Office of Complaints Against Change

by Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

It was five am on a Friday. I was dressed and ready for work. It was 2035. It was the last day I would be at work. 36 years in the same place. A 36 year old, caucasian male, would be my replacement. Someone who worked for the president, now in his tenth year at the helm had read an old poem of mine criticizing facism, reported me to the Office of Complaints Against Change. I had to turn in my badge and parking placard. I would be led away, my citizenship revoked, and pension cut in half. The half I got to keep would be held until I wrote a poem apologizing for my protest poetry over the years. An AI program could write the poem for me. All I had to do is sign consent. Otherwise, I would be put in a camp in the Mojave Desert for ten years or be put to death voluntarily. On life support, the president was still in charge, with AI president calling all the shots.

Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal lives and works in Los Angeles County. His poetry and artwork has appeared in Ariel Chart, Blue Collar Review, Does It Have Pockets, Kendra Steiner Editions, Medusa's Kitchen, Nerve Cowboy, Zygote In My Coffee, and Rogue Wolf Press, which publish his latest collection of poetry, Make the Water Laugh.

More: https://kendrasteinereditions.wordpress.com/2007/09/15/luis-cuauhtemoc-berriozabal-back-for-second-kse-chapbook