My Fortune 500 Love Poem

Amid all the typical bullshit, the fake laughter, the trumped-up urgency,
I actually found love at the office. Despite the grueling manufacturing
agreements and endless indignities and acronyms, I found love.

Who brought me music and offered candy, who listened to me bitch
until I got a promotion I didn't deserve, who knew I was lazy and distracted
but still wanted lunch with me at the Greek place. Who endured kindly

my pregnancies and brought the right kind of root beer to the hospital
and even now asks about my kids knowing this opens up a tedious monologue
about their cuteness. Who makes it nearly tolerable to sit in a cube

and never says outright that I'm crazy, thought it must be obvious
most days. Who never ratted me out for being lazy and distracted,
and who might never wonder whether I love her, but I do.

Copyright © 2009 Rachel Contreni Flynn All rights reserved
from Parthenon West Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission