I am underground
Wrapped in cable
Immersed in fluorescents
Where the formaldehyde breathes.
The bearing squeaks its way past me
A metallic cylindrical troglodite.
Other bearings squeak and scurry about
Their secret business, filling leaks with
The smell of fishsticks and new carpet.

Curiously, I come to the realization that
The more highly-paid bearings roll where
It smells more of carpet than fishsticks.
But those bearings -simple journal bearings
And ball bearings- who are paid less,
Work right next to the fishstick smell.
This is interesting because new carpet
Can kill, but a fishstick rarely does.