Agent of The State – Written September 2023 (Aged 48)

Agent of The State

i saw you surrender
at the hands –
of systems –
you say do not work
and therefore,
you can affect no change
i saw you –
with a crooked mitre
and a holy dress,
accepting the salary
as you relaxed,
into learned helplessness
lazy,
it did find you then
with legs up,
upon the chair
but i see a truth
made up and then laid bare
and for me –
that squandering –
of responsibility
because systems do not work
is just a ruse
and an unforgivable quirk
your status –
it remains intact
but i know that any accountability
quickly falls off your back
like a slippery wreck,
you count the pennies
from behind the desk
but is this really,
what we call doing your best?

James Garratt – September 2023

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https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/category/poems-and-writing-2023/