The thermostat Oracle

An ode to office survival: where frostbite is policy, honesty is cosmetic, and sarcasm is the last line of warmth against institutional chill

They say cold preserves beauty, so crank it up!

My bones forget what warmth once felt like.

Let my spine turn to icicle and my kindness thaw into bitter clarity!

She claims hypertension, but flutters like a fairy when mirror calls.

Creams whisper secrets across skin so smooth

you'd think lies exfoliate stress.

And me? I sit in silence

Half dozen from diplomacy

Numb from delicate dance

of not calling it what it is!

But hush now, don't confront

Don't disturb the peace of a woman

wrapped in manufactured ailment and turbo breeze!

Let the wind howl, let respect mean erasure

Because comfort is earned by whoever shouts first

not by those quietly breaking.

So, I simmer

An internal sweat lodge

beneath this office glacier

writing poems, instead of complaints

because they don't teach:

"How to survive frostbite from fiction" 

In trauma recovery.

Wrapped in silence

Reheating dignity

in a fridge of decorum

Sarcasm, served chilled

With a side of survival.

Author's Note

If you've ever sat frozen in silence while diplomacy wrapped itself in denial, this piece might feel familiar. Feedback is welcome, but please tread gently, the chill was real.

Reviews

[Davidgeo]

An internal sweat lodge... ha... you're hilarious. This whole thing was good comedy my friend.

Have you ever seen the movie Office Space? (from the creator of Idiocracy and Beavis and Butthead... Mike Judge - an actual living prophet apparently)

[Gregoria Ahmed]

Yes I have seen Office space and it's hilarious. I think this poem would totally belong in that universe. Haha!

[Davidgeo]

The real question today is, have you seen Idiocracy? It's by the same writer/director... and was equally hilarious but... if you live in America, Idiocracy is starting to look like our reality. It's not so funny anymore. (the movie is though, if you liked Office Space you will like Idiocracy)

[Davidgeo]

After you watch Idiocracy... you will probably start to pity Americans. It's... this is not lookin' good.

[Gregoria Ahmed]

Seriously, both movies could be spiritual cousins to The Thermostat Oracle. Bureaucracy, chaos, and a dash of existential dread.

[Davidgeo]

Ha... it's almost like we (as a species) already saw this coming... multiple times. The Thermostat Oracle... I shouldn't have watched Dark City last night.