Workspace

He will miss this work space:

a laminated desk, smooth, matte-yellow,
a chair turned away from skycrapers.

From left to right-
the job, the customer, the deadline

and a few other things
placed there for a reason-

a framed family photograph,
for example,

where everyone smiles,
proud of their white teeth,

a fixture sitting there
for years beside the clock.

But, a work space
is neither home nor family,

despite the long hours,
the friendships, the thousand meals.

Another thing placed there
for a reason-

that pink slip.