The Factory

The Factory
I got a job
Once
In a factory
That made wiring systems for Ford
The work was horrible
But the people were OK
My job was to stand in place
Along with many others
While a conveyer belt
Moving in a great circle
Carried huge boards
Dotted with coloured nails
Past us
One after the other
There were maybe twenty people
Standing around that circle
And there were maybe thirty circles
And we all had coloured wires
That we looped around the nails
The boards moved fast
And we had to move fast too
To keep up
You’d grab your first wire
Loop it round the nails of the same colour
Then grab the next wire
Loop it round the nails of the next colour
And on and on
Till you were done
And by that time
If you were fast enough
The next board was moving past
And it started all over again
I was slow at first
And I had to move into the next person’s space
It was a nightmare
And I had visions of myself
Running round the great circle
Frantically trying to match wire to pin
I got better as time went on
And I joined in the chatter that was constant
All around me
Some of those people had been there
Wire to pin
For years
And they knew when the foreman
Was adjusting the speed of the belt
Past union regulations
In order to fill orders
I didn’t know about such things
I just knew it was a hell of a way
To make
Money
Two ten minute breaks
Half an hour for lunch
Then on your feet
At the circle
Grab your first wire
And start chasing the board
Nine-hour shifts
And
Mandatory overtime

On my twelfth day there
I was hitch-hiking a ride to work
Thinking that food and shelter
Weren’t worth the cost
And wondering why people actually
Would put themselves though this shit
For
Money
A friend of mine
That I hadn’t seen for years
Picked me up
I told him where I was going
He looked at me like I was already dead
He and I had gone to school together
Dated the same girl once
Had a lot of fun
Were in Nam at the same time
In different places
So we shared a lot together
We had history
He was the one
Who dragged me from the railroad tracks
When I was insane on a cocktail
of
Vodka and grief
Shortly after my father died
We were fifteen
And the train was getting close
But I never
Held that against him

He handed me two purple tablets
Purple double-dome acid
Then he asked me if I was sure
About going to work
I said I was
He told me where he was going
And that I could join him
I declined
I was making the grand sacrifice
That all
Normal people make
I was turning over a new leaf
Mending my ways
Taking responsibility
I put the acid in my pocket
And clocked in
Went to the circle
Feet in the right place
Hands just right
Ready
Set
Go
During my first ten-minute break
I dropped a tab of the acid
Half an hour later
I was laughing
At the wires
At the board
At the circle
At the people
At myself
I walked away
Still laughing
And headed for the door
Later I was at a friends place downtown
There were a lot of others there
Laughing and listening to music
I had stopped laughing by then
And it started to rain outside
I walked out on to the porch
And sat down on the wall
And watched the rain
It got heavier and heavier
And the wind began to blow
Hard and fast
The sounds inside the house
Disappeared in the wind and rain
And the drops got bigger and bigger
The street started to flood
Lightening started
And thunder so loud it was like cannon fire
There was a song in my head
By the Guess Who
"Oh Mother Nature’s taking over
Oh Splendid Lady’s come to call"
It wasn’t exactly a pivotal moment for me
But it was something that I will never forget
And
Something I can barely remember