The Office Waits

The office waits after
A quiet night,
Lulled to sleep by
The hum of the air con
And the tinnitus of the transformers.

The stillness and silence
Of the morning is broken
By the ping of the lifts
And their electronic voices;
By the clattering of keyboards and
The muttering of memory failures:
Another forgotten password.

Then the photocopier yawns -
Its plastic body expanding
As it stretches from its standby state;
Its trays shuffle themselves in
Readiness for the day ahead.

Breakfast snacks are snapped open;
Mugs are musically over-stirred,
As steam rises stealthily to do
Battle in the arena of aromas.

Crescendos of sound slug it out:
Crisp packets crackle
As their contents are crunched;
Ringtones and telephones compete with
Colleagues, crying out for attention.

The afternoon slows to a crawl, with
Glances at watches and weather
Until it's time for the shuffling
Of shoes and paper and for people to
Trickle towards their homes.

Then the hum of the hoovers
And the clatter of cup collections
Gives way to the soft sounds
Of the swishing dishwasher
And the daily dusting.

At last, the office sighs softly,
Heading for another quiet night,
Waiting to be lulled to sleep by 
The hum of the air con.