Working Class Series #2

sixty four today

celebrated by employment.

15 birthdays at the same desk.

830, we gather, mugs in hand, half closed eyes.

impatient stances.

we took a collection.

what is your friendship  worth? 5 dollars? 3?

we signed a card, clever phrase. a teasing joke about age.

gifts: a cookware set, a new blouse, a candle.

just thoughtful enough with minimal thought involved.

feux smiles, an awkward hug

truth: your death is as guaranteed

as much as the hollowness of your colleagues.

837 return to our desks.

another year, wasted.