Poetry
Ann Gibson

Photo Credit: Ernst Gräfenberg/Flickr (CC-by-nc-nd)

Hunched at her workstation
in charity shop cast-offs,
scary hair and attitude,
chewing gum with gusto,
she prepares for implementation.

Her colleagues, flawlessly coiffed,
congregate at the coffee machine
to confer on her sartorial deficiencies.

Unfazed, chin in hand,
she stares at rolling screens;
straightens kinks,
tames tangles, defuzzes flaws
with a few casual mouse clicks.

As the go-live rolls out in sleek waves,
amid spirited self-congratulations
they race to the restroom to preen.

Ann Gibson spent her childhood in Dublin and now lives in North Yorkshire, UK. She has published poetry in Acumen, Prole, Obsessed with Pipework, Dream Catcher, Orbis, The Poets’ Republic, and various anthologies. Her poetry has also appeared online in The High Window, Algebra of Owls, Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Ofi Press Magazine and The Ekphrasis Review. Email: annjmgibson[at]gmail.com