Obsoletion at the Office

On a typical Tuesday afternoon

The three convene in their usual spot

Water cooler chatter will begin soon

Usual suspects: Gwen, Danny, and Scott

And the anonymous audience, me

A role I would happily relinquish

If another cubicle became free

Which I must say is certainly my wish

“I mean he’s completely inept,” says Gwen.

“Can’t believe they don’t fire relics like him,”

says Scott. I roll my eyes. Not this again.

“Yeah, Robert belongs in a museum,”

says Danny. “He’s a total dinosaur.”

I sigh. More complaints about the old guy.

And here he comes, they shush, laugh, then shush more.

“Could one of you guys help me? Don’t know why,

But my monitor screen just won’t turn on,”

pleads Robert. The gang makes their excuses.

Robert moves along, but before he’s gone

I stand, “I’ll help fix whatever it is.”

We walk and some snide snickers fade away.

Tightening a loose cable is all it takes

I’d wonder how it got to be that way

But I know it’s the sabotage of snakes

Robert claps my back as the screen turns blue

He squints through glasses, nods, and grins at me

“Thanks! You young fellows all know what to do.”

And I smile back, for it’s quite clear to see

They’ve got it all wrong: Danny, Scott, and Gwen

Robert is no dinosaur, nowhere close

He is instead the best sort of human

honorable, honest, what matters most

Wrinkled appearance, kind on the inside

Hardworking, disciplined, and humble too

Greater wisdom than working Google slides

Not someone to scorn, but to look up to

But there are a few office predators

Cold blooded with skin that’s reptilian

Big headed, sharp toothed velociraptors

Who I hope are headed for extinction