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Standing in the Unemployment Line

by Daniel MacFadyen

I was standing in the queue

of potential pensioners and unemployed

ten deep

each waiting their turn

at bureaucratic frustration.

 

The bearded man in front of me

to say he was middle-aged

would have been very kind

well he suddenly stepped out of line

doing the most curious thing;

 

He reached for the light

ten feet above

with all his effort and might

and I was sure he’d jump

but he didn’t quite.

 

But I know he’d forgot

where he was

forgot who he was

supposed to be

remembered who he used to be

so long ago.

Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Canada, Daniel obtained a degree in, and worked in, Environmental Biology. He did not take up writing until he was almost forty. Since then he has had poetry and flash fiction published in numerous journals and anthologies in Canada and the USA. In 2014 he was editor and publisher for an international anthology, 'In Transit: Poetry of People on the move" (Border Town Press).

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