2:49 P.M.

My head hurts.

It's a million degrees in the office.

The clock is ticking its somber song,

Perpetual, as if today is Limbo.

Tick, tick, tick.

I wonder what the thermostat is set to.

I drink some water, 

But the headache doesn't subside.

The keyboards echo the clock.

Tick, tick, tock.

I can hear the computer mice

Clicking, roving, searching.

Eternally unsatisfied, restless,

Like my knee bouncing beneath the desk.

Tick, tock, tick.

The computer says it's 2:49 P.M.

It's been 2:49 for as long as I can remember.

The clock on the wall is behind,

Stuck at 2:48, in that space between times.

Tock, tick, tick.

I'm writing an email. Maybe two.

My words are punctuated by the clock.

My thoughts are punctuated by my breath.

My head hurts.

Tick, tick. tick.