First: head on over to Quail Bell Magazine and read my poems – they’ve published four of them and I’m really excited about it!

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About two months ago I was promoted at work. It didn’t result in a massive pay raise (of course not), but it did result in adding the word Senior to my title and getting a better cubicle. I now have the coveted cubicle that backs up to floor-to-ceiling windows. I can turn around and gaze out at the pond that’s outside my building. While I usually only see geese and ducks in the pond, occasionally I’ll see one of the bald eagles that nests nearby and let’s be honest – bald eagles are fucking awesome and majestic and whenever one visits the pond everyone rushes to the window to watch them. So yeah, my office space is pretty great.

But while the addition of Senior to my the front of my title and the new office space are great there is one downfall – my desk now sits below the vents that blow cold air nonstop. I’ve taken to drinking cup after cup of hot water in order to maintain a reasonable body temp. In addition to drinking endless cups of hot water, I have a pair of fingerless gloves I wear in the office. They’re hand knit using super soft alpaca yarn; I bought them when I went to Peru a few years ago and am finally getting good use out of them.

Wearing fingerless gloves in the office!

And of course I wrote a poem about it – because this is what I do, use everything as an opportunity to write!

Promotion

I sit with hands wrapped

around the steaming mug.

My new office is freezing,

my desk just below the vents

that blow cold air regardless

of the outside temperature.

I sit and sip hot water –

not tea or coffee, just water.

Just the mug to warm my hands

the liquid to warm my throat.

Only men have inhabited this space

and I knew it would be cold

but the requirement of layers

and a lined bra seemed a worthy trade-off

for authority and power.

I celebrate by ordering new business cards

with my new title printed on them.

Tomorrow I’ll wear an unlined bra into the office

and I’ll let my erect nipples

walk into the room before me –

guns blazing.