BehindAt the heartOf the 2nd bestPolitical writingsIntended for an inaugural prizeThere are some subscriberBenefitsFor instance, the timeOf pestilence is heaven& earthThat would sell the dirt& writeStuff for pickOf the dayLooking back toThe absences behindThe printed wordsThat become dailyTrashRecital, kronos, spirit& end of oZ–Ouyang Yu
Memo to the heads of debauchment(An Australian office tragedy in three acts)
Misery does not love company. Still,troglodytes unite in micro-managingand glory-hogging their way upthe corporate pecker,regardless of the bedrizzledlackeys who ghostwrite(ghostthink) gorgon'sauto-erotic raptures.Glorification of self is the only get off,self-promotion the only pick up.Homo sapiens resemblesCro-Magnon (make that fillet mignon).Eat or be eaten, consume or be consumedin the orgasmic race to the biggest corporate profilefor the most miniscule contribution.
Know not what you can dofor your franchise?Ask what your franchise can doto the luckless bustardslabouring under your corpulent wing.No good deed goes unplagiarised;no noteworthy scheme leavesthe department unharvested.Lack the intellectual capital to spendon an informed decision?Set multiple minions to workthen cherry pick the outcomes,signing off with your own trotter.Honour no man, woman or deity.Recreate life in your own porcine image.
Days fall into nights, all unheeded.A workaholic's wet dreamis unmerited praise, forthe sweat of others anddreams of institutional lessers.Best practice is your Widdershins yardstick;choose the direct oppositeof ethical counsel toconsolidate power andcongregate perversities of soul.The whole is bereft ofthe doughnut of choice.When your life is your job,the bureaucrat's lot,you live to bleed others.–Barry Gittins
Ouyang Yu is an Australian poet, novelist, essayist, literary translator an essayist. His second novel, The English Class (Transit Lounge), was published in August. His third English novel, Loose: a Wild History, is forthcoming with Wakefield Press in 2011. His latest book of poetry, titled White and Yu, was released in April by PressPress.
Barry Gittins is a Melbourne writer.