Asked the question, you
Screw up your red-cheeked face
In a chimpanzee
friendship-confirming grimace,
Wave a dying-fish gesture at
Paper-strewn tabletop,
Offer, limply:
“We’ll come to that point –
In a moment …”
Behind you, your colleague
Removes bent-framed glasses,
Wrestles with and
Finally opens an
Obstinate window.
Thank God!
I needed that distraction:
That distraction and
the air!