POEM STARTER
Submitted by Maranda Quinn
'Closed mouths don’t get fed.'
Write a poem or short story using this phrase as your central theme. What scenarios does this bring to mind?
Corporate Kakistocracy
The squeakiest wheel gets the grease,
But I’m quiet as a mouse.
Taken advantage of, getting fleeced,
Despite my business nous.
Others with vocal advocates,
Nepotism is strong.
Knowing that I am up for it,
But not making a song.
Actions speak louder than words they say,
But closed mouths don’t get fed.
The whingiest whiners, they get their way,
The rest of us — left for dead.
Then when the quiet achiever leaves,
“I wonder why they left?”
Not enough Indians, too many ‘chieves’,
Of talent, they’re now bereft.
When the top is full of sayers not do-ers,
The action list keeps growing.
A management board of don’t-have-a-cluers,
The incompetence is showing.
So when the ship inevitably sinks,
I’ll be safe on dry land.
They will move on and it’ll happen again,
But will never understand.