There are six tables set up
Fourteen chairs around them
We can all see each other
A door that slides shut
To give the illusion of privacy

My alleged peers and supervisors
Talking business, solving problems
Allegedly
This room created to give the air of importance
I do not fall for it

Most of the talk is trivial
Complaining about the uncontrollable
Offering no practical solutions
Waxing philosophically
“Wouldn’t it be great if…”
This is business, not a fairy tale

It’s safe to say I’m not engaged
In this conversation
In this meeting
My mind isn’t somewhere else
But it is not here

Perhaps the bruised ribs
And pain that accompanies
Is what keeps me disengaged
More likely
It’s the futility of conversation

Every couple minutes
I shift in my seat
Searching for comfort that cannot be found
It helps the time to pass
Three and a half hours

Each job provides its own misery
Every month this is mine
Three hours for a few nuggets
Of something useful
This is inefficient corporate America
Pay me to drive
Pay me to sit
Pay me to daydream
Pay me to eat
They call this management

There was a time I was excited
To have influence
For my voice to be heard
To be in a room with important people
I was naive

Once per quarter I will voice my opinion
And maybe it makes a difference
Not likely, though
Everyone wants confirmation
Not discussion

Ultimately those that make decisions
Make their decisions
Based on their own vision
Their own emotion and experience
Not the collective

And, so, the cycle continues
I return to my store
I sit at my desk
As if this day never happened
Except that my shirt is still tucked in