At the Insurance Brokers

Drafting covernotes and letters,
Insuring yachts for their jet-setters,

Or the normal household goods
Of the Smiths, the Peters, the Woods.

All types: third party, fire and theft,
Or fully comp. And on the left

Are trainees from the local schools
Working now on pro-rata rules

Or learning how to send a telex
To our branches down in Essex.

And this is the Director’s screen
Where he negotiates unseen,

Second-checks the work and signs
With a flourish the bottom lines.

Next the ladies on the V.D.U.
Who input what the technicians do;

Debit money from foreign banks
In Swedish Krona, Marks and Francs.

Then comes filing with its tiny chits
Requesting boxes, the usual bits:

Stamp-pads, staples, signing slips
And Biros with a range of tips.

Lastly there’s the man in wages
Who transfers monthly (though it seems ages)

Into bank accounts directly
Big and small amounts correctly.