Written for Karen when she left the firm where I worked. She was officially the receptionist but generally known by everybody as the all round fixer, who had 100 other jobs to do unofficially. Always there, ready to help, especially for the trainers. A big loss when she left.
What did Karen ever do for us?
By Fahim Firfiray
London SW1X, November 2007
Arranger of open
or in-company courses,
Dispatcher all over
of needed resources
Speaker on phone
when things need to be spoken,
Fixer all round
of all things broken
Interior designer
of corridors and halls,
Sticker of stencils,
Painter of walls
Mender of roofs,
Unclogger of bogs,
Maintainer of registers,
Logger of logs
Hirer of anything
needed to hire,
Enforcer of regs
relating to fire
Inductor of all
new inductees,
Procurer of coffees,
biscuits and teas
Meeter and Greeter
of the first to arrive,
Checker of names,
Lee, Sue or Clive
Shaker of hands
welcomer, smiler,
Recorder of good news,
Complaints compiler
Manager when things
don’t go to plan,
Bearer of flak
when stuff hits the fan
Checker of supplies,
Counter of cash,
Watcher of stock,
Recycler of trash
Attender to matters
of utmost urgency,
Advisor of contacts
at times of emergency
So many jobs
but let’s not pretend,
The best role of all,
Beloved colleague and friend