snug behind the cubicle

i think the only

job

i was never laid off from,

or fired

from, or flat out quit.

was this one.

self-employed.

having my own business.

unlike now,

when employed by others

i'd use

up all of my allotted

sick days,

my vacation time.

i came in late,

left early, dilly dallied

at the water cooler

and coffee machine.

sometimes

when snug behind my partitioned

cubicle

i would close my eyes

and nod off

for a good twenty

minutes until i heard

the clicking of shoes coming

up the hallway.

i had no interest

in the esoteric

world of computer programming,

the mind numbing

details

in the small print of files

stacked upon my desk.

i was shoveling coal out of 

a towering mountain.

often i would stare out the window,

at tradesmen,

landscapers,

painters and mechanics.

all free from

this dark abyss.