Office Supplies

by Tanya McDonald, Billie Dee, and Michael Dylan Welch

the paperclip
bent into a heart—
hold music (Tanya)

out of whiteout
winter afternoon (Billie)

fiftieth birthday—
my manager’s doodle
on the pink slip (Michael)

hole-punch confetti
stuck to the janitor’s shoes (Tanya)

printer jam
the instruction manual
in broken English (Billie)

retirement speech
into the shredder (Michael)

Hedgerow #140, Dec 2022, p16