Saga of the Pillow Man


Overtime.
Dry mop duty
in the filling room,
it's a safety issue,
the clumps of polyester
are slicker than snot
on black ice
when stepped on.

The third pass through
the production floor,
the minute hand is on 4,
forty minutes to go,
buggy of pillows needs pushed
to the sewing room,
an ocean of five thousand pillows,
with pasquinade beach scenes,

New York with twin towers,
flowers on the pillow cases
shipped in from China,
filled in the U.S.A.
because if they were filled
in China, how big
would the ship have to be
to get them here?

Brown suede pillows
with gold embroidery,
filled with synthetic
downy feathers invite
the touching of their softness
as the buggy is pushed
through the soft cloud
of peace.

Two more buggies are ready,
mauve bed rest pillows,
and silver silks with red azaleas.
The minute hand is on 6,
as the nozzles howl,
the pillow men in constant
motion lost in day dreams
toss pillows into buggies.

The floor boss nicknamed
"The Happy Ninja Panda"
shoves buggies with pillow cases
into the production floor
with a smile.
He turns and gets hit
in the head with a pillow.
He spins around with panda face.

The nozzles howl
as a pack of wolves,
the minute hand is on 9,
the slow roll is pushed
with leaden feet,
as a nozzle jumps a case,
a polyester blizzard swirls
a maelstrom for a few seconds.

One more pass with the mop,
the minute hand is on 10,
the nozzles fall silent,
the pillow men purge themselves
of polyester fiber with
hissing air hoses.
Clean up.
Ritual preening.

The minute hand is on 11,
the floor is clean,
conversations flourish about
the Bulls, the Jets, about Denver,
about Armageddon.
The Happy Ninja Panda yawns.
A paycheck floats out there
in the asteroid belt of pillows.





















Poetry by Peter J. Kautsky
Read 1276 times
star mini Editors' choice
Written on 2013-05-12 at 23:15

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Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
This text has been chosen to be featured on the home page of PoetBay. Thank you for posting it on our poetry website.
2013-05-26


StillHoppin The PoetBay support member heart!
From the delightful title all the way to the very end, this is a genuine work of art. I much enjoyed the read!

~
2013-05-14


Rob Graber
A fine slice of workday life. "slicker than snot on black ice": That sure sounds slick!
2013-05-13



The transformation of the ordinary into poetry... Or the poetry that exists in the so-called ordinary. This is wonderfully written. *applaud*
2013-05-13


Hans Bump
Eloquently descriptive and personal....also tightly written in a format that flows so easily. Verrry nicely done.
2013-05-13



This is good on many levels, I appreciate the way you caught the relativity of time.
2013-05-12