We take in raw materials by the bus load.

Then comes the refining.
Everything separated by purity and grade.

Now the real molding starts.
Drills, belts, bells, and presses sound throughout the day,
with just enough of a break at night
for the workers to get some rest,
before changing into another pair of cheap,
ill-fitting pants and grab a tie as they walk out the door.
But in the morning we sound the alarms
and start another shift.

It often takes some time
to go from that crude unwieldy substance
that we start with, and produce
the uniformed product that
our clients need.

That brings me to quality control:
Any deviation from the standard will not be tolerated.
If the dross can’t be extracted from the beginning,
we’ll keep trying, though sometimes,
the stock must be discarded.

But most of the time, in the end, we win.
The pressure from those presses,
The heat from the drills,
The sharp drone of the bells,
It all eventually works,
and they leave,
all exactly the same.