You’d have to know what it costs to see how clean the work is—
the quiet competence runs without the chorus
of acknowledgment, the daily maintenance
of the adequate: no witness, no applause, the patience
of the self-managing, the interior admin
of the functional person running within
the quiet competence, the scaffolding
the world relies on without the handling.
The quiet competence—it doesn’t show.
The world sees functional and thinks: easy. Slow
and steady is invisible at speed.
The quiet competence is what they need
but won’t acknowledge—the held-together hum
of the adequate, the workhorse sum
of the daily effort, the unremarkable
delivery: the quiet competence: full.
I show up. I contribute. I complete.
The deadlines arrive and I meet
them without drama—the quiet competence
does not require drama. The dense
interior work precedes the effortless
exterior. I am the seamless
product of the unseeable effort.
The quiet competence: my self-report.
Some days I’d like the seen—the recognition
of the weight behind the clean position
of the functional. I hold that want
and set it down. The competence: the font
is running steady whether or not
the credit comes. I’ve got
the work and that’s the work. The quiet
competence: my standard. Mine. My riot.