July 26, 2010

misconceptions of a novice copy editor







I am fact-checking a piece on a new German luxury sedan
And I easily recognize in the cover picture
Of the digital brochure where the technical specs are
The Chicago skyline in all its grandiosity

I am suddenly distracted from my job
Thrown in a burst to a time past long ago
That one time we walked down Michigan Avenue
Is this accurate?: "Hand in hand"

I smell the iron coming from The Loop
I savor the deep dish pizza
I remember I was then, still young
I descend slowly, like in a panoramic elevator

* * *

The thousand miles in Greyhounds
And frequent flyer loopholes
I squeezed through just to get there
Speed up before me and before the tinted window

The wind in your hair, the woolen cap I gave you
Those endless phone calls in the middle of the night
Your friends and, why not, that other girl I dismissed
Because of you, turnstiles, plenty of turnstiles,
Ticket booths, phone booths and obstacles.

All in all, it's a misconception
And I get back to my work:
Yes, the horse power is right
And I am tight, sweating, sitting in my desk
A deadline away from an empty home


talco fischer (Monona, WI, 1976)

3 comments:

sevenpointman said...

horrible poem.
Don't leave your day job

Jessie Carty said...

enjoyed your poem and timely for me because this just happened where my husband works when someone noticed that an icon the tv station he works at was using was actually the skyline for a different city. oops!

allison said...

sevenpointman: it's easy to critique someone else's work by saying "horrible"... anyone can do that. some elaboration wouldn't hurt.