The Last

Wilson spent
His last day working on the engineering network
His last hour putting together a fantasy football team
His last minute instant messaging on the Web
His last second eating a donut

Wilson spent
The last day
The last hour
The last minute
The last second
Thinking there was more time to spend than there was

Now everyone in the office talks in whispers
Faced for a few searing moments
With the unrelenting fierceness of life
And of its eventual absence

Bewildered by an authority greater than their own
That can remove someone from occupation and friends
Without asking permission
And never bring them back

And everyone in the office dolefully reflects
In those few searing moments
That eventually – too soon –
This unrelenting authority will seize them as well

And they will helplessly repeat
The last day
The last hour
The last minute
The last second
Wilson spent