ENTRANCE B

 Why are they so nice to us

Those denizens of the DHSS?

Oops! – wrong image,

It’s now the Employment Service…more or less

 

Raymond sported a badge which identified him

As ‘a member of the clerical support team’

I wanted to ask him what position,

But he was already away

With his ‘back-to-work’ scheme

 

I had to have a plan you see

That got me ‘gainful’ again;

What occupations could I list?

How much, where, when?

 

Well, let me see now;

I was a brain surgeon till times got tough

Then I tried circus strongman

Till my back cried enough;

Later, it was alligator-taming

Till I lost my bottle

Now I fancy Formula One driving

At full throttle

 

Raymond scribbled; the audience had ended

‘No inclination – benefit suspended’

 

What has happened to the barricades;

The litter-strewn floors,

The ‘them-and-us’ confrontations,

The glass partitions, the bolted-down chairs?

 

Open-plan dole-queues and carpeted floors?

I think I will get myself a job

There’s no soul in this place anymore.