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On Time

Ian Mullins

The five ‘o’ clock people
have struck again.
They will message at four fifty-nine,
demanding an instant reply
to an urgent matter
that on proper examination,
first thing Monday morning,
proves to be no more significant
than a daisy dropping her petals,
or a fly mis-placing a wing.

Still they come to the counter
with nails ready-raised
to scratch into the varnish,
entering their appointments
with long lists of questions
one minute’s glance
at their paperwork would answer.

But they are not here
to satisfy themselves; they are here
to scream, flourishing long letters
of complaint that do nothing more
than boil their own blood
past the point of no cooling,
where nothing awaits but the court order

and the heart attack: counting down days
till the last paperwork is done,
and the glow of a furnace files
all doubts to dust.

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