ADVENT DAY EIGHTEEN: BETSY FAGIN

respect, communication, integrity, excellence

(for Sherron Watkins)

-tiny town of Optimism, population 6,000

-responsible for each other’s children

-a bite of ice cream sandwich

in the year of whistleblowers

why didn’t you just leave?

-do something right about wrong

from west coast to east

-remaking itself every seven years

innovation always

dark side of innovation is fraud

-too creative. never uninspired

-demoralized, I led the effort of invincibility

bright and sharp but crossed a line

-I pushed back, reprimanded

-took cover, switched positions

divisions comfort group think

-corporate mask kept

from digging deeper

{{respect communication integrity excellence}}

-value cracks in our façade

evil empire reputation

-crashing, eliminated hedged

with raptors

-rafters paper structure

paper companies

see circular, hidden losses

-shocked me to my core

-future market price like water

through a sieve

what was going on in the pit of your stomach?

-market panic

we will implode

-can those of us who’ve not grown

rich afford to stay?

-our value system messenger

would not be shot

-naive to the point of stupidity

grown up a lot since when

-I wanted to be sure

he took me seriously

-my analysis come clean

-I was moved downstairs

with rental furniture

-no real work to make me uncomfortable

-in December the ship sank

I got as much cash as I could

-opened cloud of witness

weight that burdens

-the race marked out for you

-so many villains made me a heroine

-choices I made sent an early grave

stressed execs die every day

-I should have gotten more

people to go with me

BETSY FAGIN is the author of All is not yet lost (Belladonna, 2015) and Names Disguised (Make Now Press, 2014) as well as a number of chapbooks. She is the current editor of the Poetry Project Newsletter.