In between Christmas and New Year
the office is open for what
management assure the staff
is a normal working day.
Those who have not saved
enough holidays, or have to come in
to cover for those who have booked
Christmas off first,
trudge into the office, feeling as festive
as a broken clock.
The clock on the wall seems stuck
at ten to eleven
and we\'re all here until
four.
Drinking cups of tea,
checking empty email inboxes
for new messages and to answer
telephones that are not ringing.
All office conversation and small-talk
has been exhausted.
We all know who has had a good
Christmas, who got roaring drunk
on Boxing Day, who had a cold
all over the holidays,
who burnt the turkey.
Nothing to do and
nothing to say and
four hours left of our shift.
The rest of the world will not return
to normal until next week.
But we are here.
But we are here.