Conduct

Is a skill, or mastery
Internalised, embodied
Through decades
Of labour, and discipline
Your own

When to enact it
You need a stamp, a certificate
From a council ordained
To regulate that skill

Are the feet
You walk on, fingers
You touch with
Muscles, you use to move
Your own

When to conduct them
You require registration, references
A badge to validate
Your step, touch, gesture

Is your speech, thought
Shaped by reflection
Discretion, insight
Your own

When to utter a word
You need permission, approval
And submission
To a panel

Is the chair you sit on
Laptop on desk, phone
Clothes you wear, the ground
Air, the tongue
Yours — when

For opening mouth
All’s confiscated
Stripped, gagged, handcuffed
You’re transported
Locked