Middle Manager Dreams

I watch you across the table
You watch me back
Not a steady gaze
But your eyes like a viper tongue
Reaching for reactions
To the half-lies you land

But your slight smile fails to hide
Your chosen ignorance
The panic of slander
An ear-trumpet from your boss
And a megaphone to us.

There's a gentle soul there
That you are trying to protect
But it's a hibernating bear
Pawing dreams of respect