JULIA COLE
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I Have an Extended, Temporary Position at Citibank

Now I am an anthropologist learning their humor.
For instance the one about Hillary naming her new book
It Will Take a Village to Satisfy My Husband is funny,
but not when you tell it to Vince, the Vice President.  

And now I am auditioning for a permanent part in a Broadway show
here at the bank, one I’ll perform five times a week. Some things
I do here go over well, like straightening up an office or getting
more paper cups. Asking to take a half day is never well-received. 

They wonder what I do when I’m not here, how I fill the time
without trips to the water cooler, without knowing what René on 23
knows about the latest catering mix-up. They want to go on vacation,
but they want to come back and tell about it. They bring pictures. 

Sometimes I think I’m getting the hang of being liked here,
like when I say to Sonia, “Let me take that folder to Ed,
I’m headed that way,” and her nod tells me I’ve spoken
an unaccented line of Citispeak. As I rush off with her folder 

I have the same feeling I get anywhere, when I belong there
for a minute. I see myself weightless in the long, empty hall
like some suspended skater. It is as if I could
leap and twirl in the still air, like any other joyful imagining.

 

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