i work for a non-profit organization

in the washington

dc

metro area

so many people

say they work for a non profit organization.

that used to be called the church,

but not anymore.

it's an actual business where people

get paychecks.

but no money is made.

it sounds

like volunteer work.

out of the goodness of their

heart

they show up every day

and do something.

what they do exactly is beyond

me.

i assume there are telephones

involved.

computers. papers to be shuffled

on desks,

i assume there's 

a coffee machine somewhere

down the hall.

i get sleepy when they go into

the details, putting toothpick

into my eyelids to keep them open.

my first yawn occurs

when i hear the words non-profit.

what does that mean?

or worse.

i work for a think tank

on foxhall road, upper northwest

near the French Embassy.

it takes

me a few minutes to wrap my head

around that.

i find a bottle of extra strength

tylenol at this point.

i imagine people in a sealed

steel tank

with pure oxygen pumped in,

they all have their hands

on their chins,

tin hats on their heads as

they think deeply about stuff.

steam coming of their ears

as they ponder

solutions to the world problems.

and then they break for lunch.