Civil Servants

April 19, 2017

“Taxi Court” by Lisa BadnerPosted by

Lisa Badner

TAXI COURT

They call me judge.
Talk about hacks and specs,
seizures and blues.
It’s my first day, and it all eludes me.
A limo driver yells: it is conspiracy,
medallions and cops. He takes off his shoe—
… in my country this means I tell the truth,
he licks the bottom.
They read Taxi News
and look at their watches.
My decisions pile up
while I try passwords on the computer.
downandout123, neerdowell456.
Finally, ihatelaw789, gets me in.

I find everybody guilty.

—from Rattle #55, Spring 2017
Tribute to Civil Servants

[download audio]

__________

Lisa Badner: “I have worked for the government for much of the last twenty years, since I graduated from law school. I decided on a whim to take a class at The Writers Studio years ago out of sheer boredom from one of these government jobs. I then transferred to another civil servant job, which was not unionized, and was promptly fired. This was the best thing that ever happened for my writing, and at around the same time I began studying with Phil Schultz in the master class. Now I work by day for the New York State government as a hearing officer (also known as Administrative Law Judge). The humor and irony in this strange bureaucratic world inspires me.” (twitter)

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April 17, 2017

“I Had a Window” by Lisa BadnerPosted by

Lisa Badner

I HAD A WINDOW

I was a squatter
in hearing room 506.
The office was empty.
Claims for the space were under review, stalled
by state bureaucratic snarl.
I was bold, took what should be mine.
The other hearing officers were angry
that I—a transfer, of only a few months—
could see the outside.
They filed petitions to the bosses in Albany.
Those without windows did not speak to me,
even to say hello.
The friends of those without windows
did not speak to me,
even to say hello.
My requests for an ergonomic chair
were thwarted.
But I had a window.
I could see scaffolding.
The tops of city buses. The swirling
litter of downtown Brooklyn.
I could see weather.
I was elated.
Then the email circulated.
I was being moved
to a small windowless nook
in the back northwest corridor of the fourteenth floor.
And now, this is where I sit.
Over the HVAC. Under
the yellow asbestos-drenched tiles.
On my lopsided,
ill-fitted
ergonomic chair.

—from Rattle #55, Spring 2017
Tribute to Civil Servants

[download audio]

__________

Lisa Badner: “I have worked for the government for much of the last twenty years, since I graduated from law school. I decided on a whim to take a class at The Writers Studio years ago out of sheer boredom from one of these government jobs. I then transferred to another civil servant job, which was not unionized, and was promptly fired. This was the best thing that ever happened for my writing, and at around the same time I began studying with Phil Schultz in the master class. Now I work by day for the New York State government as a hearing officer (also known as Administrative Law Judge). The humor and irony in this strange bureaucratic world inspires me.” (twitter)

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April 14, 2017

“Even Rottweilers Sing” by Tim AmsdenPosted by

Tim Amsden

EVEN ROTTWEILERS SING

The grass doesn’t love me though I nursed it, fussed over it in the night like baby asparagus. Even trees show flexibility but I can’t be expected to twitter with cowbirds, give doves milk, carry nuns in my brain. I’m from Wichita, for God’s sake.

Let’s save the world, even if it’s only a tortilla with Mary’s face. The Ghost is my pay pal, his great fat fist a cannon, his voice calling you home.

Listen, if you go, take a note from me and hold on, rail against fairness, against the sun that won’t stop.

Blink. It’s over.

—from Rattle #55, Spring 2017
Tribute to Civil Servants

[download audio]

__________

Tim Amsden: “I worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 25 years in its Kansas City office, which gave me a deep and abiding appreciation for the interplay between the sublime and the absurd.” (link)

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