The Volunteer
We're glad you've volunteered; today is your first day.
Your cubicle's right here; the one with the bouquet.
We'll treat you like a king and get you underway,
and we'll mold you like a sculptor molds his clay.
We'll give you paperwork and let you settle in.
Then in a day or two the real work will begin.
You'll be so overwhelmed you'll wish you had a twin.
We pride ourselves on spreading people thin.
We're very fond of people we don't have to pay
we'll take advantage of you every single day
just keep on working, keep those talents on display,
also, blindly follow everything we say.
We like to spend some time with every volunteer
so after work we'd like to take you for a beer
but since work never ends our offer's insincere
though we like to keep a friendly atmosphere.
If you're successful you'll move to a higher floor.
But poor performance is a thing we can't ignore.
For every volunteer we've got a hundred more.
If you don't have what it takes then there's the door.
We hear complaints that we severely underpay.
That's not the image that we're trying to portray.
It's up to you if you will leave or you will stay,
but it really doesn't matter anyway.
There's interns and apprentices lined up for several miles.
They've stormed the lobby and they're filling up the aisles.
they're so impressive with their business suits and smiles.
We've got all their deepest secrets in our files.
We hear that you're not happy with the lack of pay.
That's disappointing since today is your first day.
We value everything our people have to say.
We assure you we'll address this right away.
It seems your services are no longer required.
We sort of planned on that the minute you were hired.
We'll skip the whole routine of telling you you're fired
and if someone asks we'll just say you retired.
Our business practices are hard to justify
We give you other things that money just can't buy.
You came here a cocoon, now you're a butterfly
and we like to think that we're the reason why.
It may appear that this decision is abrupt,
and there are those who say our motives are corrupt.
Take your possessions, leave the corporate coffee cup
and we'll let you know if something opens up.
Reality shows like Dirty Jobs and Undercover Boss are revealing what is really happening to the workforce these days. And it's not what the college recruiters are telling us.
Your poem isn't long enough. It points out the fallacy of unpaid internships so very well.
Ron
I have the time, but I don't volunteer. I had begun working when I was 15, and it is time I should relax. Why bother with work that doesn't pay me?
Sandie