from "Works & Days"
BY GINA MYERS.
In Nosferatu, Count Orlok seeks to buy an abandoned property
Marx writes, “Capitalism is dead labor which, vampire-like, lives
Only by sucking living labor, and lives the more,
The more labor it sucks”
Nine weeks into the stay-at-home order in Philadelphia,
Due to the novel coronavirus which had killed over 90,000 Americans,
The news reports that Jeff Bezos, vampire-like,
Will likely become the world’s first trillionaire as he profits off the pandemic
Stuck at home, we are the capitalist’s dream—all we can do
Is consume. In Nosferatu, we are warned too late not to
Let the vampire’s shadow overtake us.
+
In “Vampire Blues,” Neil Young sings:
“I’m a vampire, babe,
Suckin’ blood from the earth.
I’m a vampire, baby,
Suckin’ blood from the earth.
Well, I’m a vampire, babe,
Sell you twenty barrels worth”
+
First we were told to prepare to work from home
Then we were told to work from home
On the first day working from home, we were told
There would be an adjustment period
Told there would be a lot for people to juggle & technical issues
To work out. On the second day, they sent us a list
Of how to behave during video conference calls
On the third day, it was like nothing had changed:
Work was very busy & we were expected
To work both earlier and later, the work day stretching
Without commutes to mark its start and stop
But throughout, lip service was paid to giving ourselves a break.
“It’s okay to not be as productive as usual,” they said
“Maybe take this time to do some professional development.”
However, there was no down time, no easing up of work
There was just the demand for more
& the demand to have it now
+
Everybody’s working for the weekend
Unless they’re working for the Clampdown
The Jam sing, “If we tell you you got two days
Then don’t complain”
John Maynard Keynes thought that technology
Would advance enough to give us
A 15 hour work week
+
If you only worked 15 hours a week
What would you do with the rest of the time?
Read, write, maybe tend a garden, prepare meals,
Talk to your neighbors, spend time with family,
Volunteer, exercise & relax too
Basically, feel fulfilled & connected to community
+
In the Johnny Paycheck song, “Take This Job & Shove It”
He doesn’t actually tell the boss that
He is just daydreaming on the assembly line
Waiting for the day that he can say those words
+
In this week’s inspirational work email
They tell us we should avoid meetings
As much as we can
Meetings stifle creativity, are a waste of time
& hamper productivity
After I receive this email
My boss sends me a meeting invite
+
Do I quote Morrissey? Fuck Morrissey
But “I was looking for a job & then I found a job,
and heaven knows I’m miserable now”
Gina Myers' newest book is Some of the Times, forthcoming from Barrelhouse Books in October 2020. She lives in Philadelphia where she co-edits the tiny with Emma Brown Sanders. You can follow her on Twitter @ginamyers, and on Instagram @gmyers25.