the screams of the supervisors

by Martin Hayes

you can’t always decipher what the screams of the supervisors mean
so numerous are they
sometimes they sound like moos from within a herd
drowned out by the rest of the heard
then other times they are like the beatings of a silverback’s chest
charging into a clearing in the forest
before just standing there
looking for the surprise and shock to appear on all of our faces
so that it can make him feel hard and relevant again

sometimes they are like the bite of a hyena into the back of your neck
other times they are like the annoying whimpering of a chained-up dog
and sometimes they are as ferocious and directed as a snake bite
leaving you feeling anxious and nervous
from how much poison they might’ve injected into you
and yet other times
they are like the howl of a lonely wolf
howling at something unknown
unheard
alone

but mostly
they are like the coughing-up bark from some hideous animal
afflicted by a great disease
coming from somewhere far off
in the dense electronic wood