The Danger Within

Content Warning: This is a poem that tells a story of sexual harassment and violence in a workplace setting. While fictitious, the situations described can be very real and aren't to be taken lightly. I've done my best to not describe anything in a graphic way, but if you are someone who finds this type of thing unsettling, I would rather you didn't read this, even if that means I don't get your views. Still, I feel compelled to write and share this, so assuming this poem gets approved, here it is.

She got a job at an auto garage,

A job she really liked,

But when she did she didn't know,

Everything that would unfold.

Two other women worked there,

Hard workers like herself.

On a cigarette break one day they warned her,

about a broken stair named Jeff.

He's the assistant manager, they said.

You haven't met him yet.

He's a grabby, touchy creep.

Don't get caught alone with Jeff.

We've told the owner Emilio many, many times,

But Jeff stays, because he does the books so well,

He stays because the customers like him more than us.

Indeed, it happened that she met infamous Jeff,

A lanky man with good looks and oozing charm,

but the hands of a grabby goose.

She discovered the appeal he had with clients,

Stemmed from the other products he sold,

Stuff that Emilio didn't know about,

Until she showed him on the shop cams.

Emilio hedged his words,

Jeff was his best employee,

But the danger attached to this secret trade was real.

Emilio held a meeting in his office,

Three women, two men, Emilio and Jeff.

At the back of the office was a new gun safe,

The code was given out.

If there's any problems here,

You can sort it out with this.

Emilio was satisfied with this solution,

His workers not so much,

Bills don't go away, though,

And neither does the work.

The broken stair named Jeff,

Got bolder over time,

His goosey-grabby hands touched and pinched.

He did it in front of customers,

He did it in front of Emilio,

He did it in front of the other workers.

The women put up with it for a while,

But one day she'd had enough,

She slapped Jeff in retaliation,

He hurled back angry names and violent threats.

But he saw she didn't seem fazed by that.

So he dragged her out of the garage,

And fired her from the job she loved.

She called Emilio on her cell,

Give me one good reason why, she said,

I shouldn't go to the law with this?

Emilio begged and pleaded, don't!

I'm very sorry, indeed.

I've taken a look at my books,

There's something you should see.

Meet me in the office in the morning,

I'll make things up to you.

Against her better judgement,

She waited for the time to come.

When it did, Jeff was waiting there,

Along with Emilio.

She demanded to know why the broken stair was present,

Emilio urged patience, and took them both inside.

In the office he opened the books,

And for the first time she saw Jeff sweat.

I've taken a closer look, Emilio said.

Jeff, I want to know,

Where is it that my money's gone?

Jeff sputtered in response,

He claimed he didn't know,

He tried to change the subject to the woman

Who had dared to assault him back.

Emilio wouldn't hear it.

Jeff, I want you to turn in your keys,

I want you off my property,

And I expect to be repaid in full,

Or I will do what I should have done,

And give you over to the law.

Jeff cursed and swore,

He threw his chair across the room,

He threw open the office door.

He cursed and swore and made his threats

To everyone in the garage.

He made such a scene, in fact,

That work ground to a halt,

Until Jeff was forced from the building,

And the door locked tight behind him.

After this Emilio went back to his office,

She followed him inside.

I want to give you your job back,

He offered the woman who had struck Jeff.

She laughed out loud,

And shook her head at him.

Don't you see, Emilio?

You're the problem here.

Jeff's a broken stair perhaps,

But you're the man who refused to mend it.

Until it was you who was affected,

You didn't care about the rest of us,

On whose backs your money comes.

I love this work, I really do,

But I won't take this job back.

The bills and work will always be there,

But nothing says I must do it here.

Good luck getting your money back,

She added, as she turned to leave.

She stopped short, however,

As something caught her eye.

Emilio, you should know, your safe is open wide.

It doesn't look as though anything's left inside.

Everyone gathered to look,

Her words were certainly true,

The contents of the safe had been picked clean,

The guns and ammo weren't there.

Unease fell over everyone,

They all knew whose work it was.

He was angry and now he was armed, too?

They argued amongst themselves,

Whether what they suspected was true or false,

Or were they just scared?

She looked out the office window,

Into the back lot below.

That's where she saw Jeff pacing,

Near the trunk of his car.

His movement was agitated,

His pacing erratic.

He fumbled with his keys and a cigarette,

And turned the lock on the trunk.

She knew what would be inside,

She didn't need to see.

Guys, we've got to run, she said,

They began to flee.

Emilio, on the other hand, had to look to see.

He went over to the window,

His outline Jeff could see.

Two pops and then the tinkling of glass.

Screaming down in the garage,

Footsteps to the fire door and not the front,

Where Jeff would expect them to go.

That was a mistake it turned out,

The fire alarm wasn't silent,

And Jeff knew what it meant.

He headed their way as they scattered,

Across the street they went.

An abandoned house, an abandoned building in the back.

They went inside to hide as the windows shattered in the front.

The building was crumbling, and leaves littered the floor.

A transient had left some matches,

A gas can was there as well.

The woman who struck back knew what she had to do.

She encouraged the others to run,

But none of them would leave her,

Either out of fear or bravery.

A brick, a fist, a tire iron,

The gas can and the matches,

This is what they had to stop the broken stair.

Jeff was yelling, getting closer now.

Time was quickly running out.

They poured the gas into the doorway,

They trailed it out the back.

They waited until the door swung in,

Then they dropped a burning match and ran.

The flames shot up inside that abandoned tinder box.

Jeff's boots were coated with the gas,

The flames found them irresistible.

His focus was revenge,

He did not notice as his work pants began to burn.

He saw them running through the smoke,

He aimed and fired,

But if he hit his target, he would never know.

The heat and flames became to much.

His skin began to blister and peel.

Jeff fled the burning house,

He ran into the street.

Red and blue lights lit up the neighborhood.

His clothes still burned as they surrounded him,

He was told to lay down on the ground.

Jeff decided he'd lay under it instead,

And pointed that final bullet at his head.

When all was said and done,

The fury of the broken stair was impotent.

Emilio survived the shots,

Everyone else did, too.

But to say they were okay

Was not a reflection of reality.

Nightmares, anxiety, PTSD,

Loss of a business and a job they loved,

Loss of trust in their fellow man,

All because Emilio would not listen when warned,

The danger was within.

It was a broken stair that needed fixing,

And he waited until the building fell down instead.