by Mike Mesterton-Gibbons

“Rise in back pain and long-term sickness linked to home working”
—The Guardian

It’s the ergonomy, ye stooped! You spent
Two years hunched over laptops on a bed,
Settee or kitchen stool, and now you’re bent
Too out of shape for office work instead.
Home working wasn’t introduced to wreck
Employment, but you had no Peloton
Elliptical to stretch your back and neck,
Relax your nerves and put a damper on
Godawful posture twisting up your spine
Or aggravating wrist and shoulder strain—
Numb digits make it hard to type this line:
Off sick today with carpal-tunnel pain …
My moral’s clear: Be glad of your commute—
You get away, and stretch yourself to boot!