DE FACTO

DE FACTO

the arm and a leg
debt retrieval people
(who might
already
   be hallmarked
for, or even be
in the midst of the process
of being
replaced
    my machines)

have stamped me on my forehead
laser-branded my file
“terminal case”

and here I am
under cover
    trying to slip through
every electric fence by
way of
some dark carnival

commodified down to
my body parts as
sole exchangeable assets

fear
    being cannibalised by
seemingly civilized means

but when
      the bandsaw hits my bone
de facto, I am
going to scream no matter
how you
   spin the semantics

the blood on
your apron
       calculator on

your desk unless
chipped into your head