OFFICE JAZZ

So I got a new job in a law firm on the Lagos Island. Three days into the structured life, I realized my creativity seemed to be going nowhere. And in a panicky vision, I saw years of office drudgery without an option for creative writing. Of course, I had plenty to write, and plenty to create—what else do we do law firms? But drafting pleadings, while it may put food on the table, does not bring a pleasing satisfaction to the senses.

I prompted myself to work: write, guy, write. And on a morning, on my way to work in a bus, it occurred to me that the office life was a potential area to be explored in my writings. I started with poetry: Office Jazz!

OFFICE JAZZ: Mergers and Acquisitions | By Ayo Sogunro

I first saw her by the copier machine:

Her features, tight and serious—but with lips of passion.

A brisk glance at me, the new boy in the office

And I fell in sacred longing—that glance was suffice

Her specialty lay in Companies and Takeovers:

A proud feminist—no sympathy for lovers.

But she had a smile, and a witty banter

There was no acquiring—but you could merge with her

I planned my takeover by the ancient books:

The slight touch, the brush past—and the penetrating looks.

I could have saved myself the trouble I had to go through

All it took was my smile—and my eyes that spoke true

At the copier machine again, a sleight of hand:

Her nipples—pink—emerged from its lacy band.

She sighed again as we shifted in position

She thought it was a merger—I called it ‘Acquisition’