The frosty LEDs flicker overhead,
Dispersing monotone rays of white on beige
I feel a fresh migraine approach
Sip the stale coffee cooling next to my keyboard.
The girl beside me in the rainbow dupatta,
Leans over empty staplers and stained manila
To whisper: ‘The boss is going on a holiday,
Won’t be back before salary day.’
I’m told this is cause for celebration
The best you can make of a bad situation.
And I suppose I’d feel some of this ecstasy,
If my soul weren’t screaming for aspirin.
The words on the screen swirl and dance
Dupatta girl spares me an expectant glance
Before turning to the gentleman to her right
Replays her message of freedom and flight.
‘It’s been a while’, someone says
Since we’ve seen the sun on a weekday.
‘It’s been longer’, snaps another
Since I took a smoke break and wasn’t bothered.
I grant these are all valid concerns,
Nobody enjoys a meeting with flooded lungs.
We also need a new coffee machine
Someone really should get the filters cleaned.
They filed a report with the HR department
Got an electric kettle and a higher sales target.
Which they didn’t meet ’cause the phones were dead
And were allocated a raise of two percent.
That’s ‘cause you can’t put a Band-Aid, you see
On a laceration of the third degree.
Sunless days of endless excel sheets
Aren’t fixed with extra caffeine and weekend retreats.
Still, you can give me a ride back home,
When the sun’s gone, the streets are monochrome.
For now, I’d settle for a quick smoke break,
Vitamin D’s overrated anyway.
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