We gather

Stunned and awfully helpless

At the news

Of a coworker’s death

In the open parking lot

Of the office complex

The breeze

And the cold exposure

Of careless daylight

Feel remote

And our ties

And high heels

Seem compulsory

Unbidden

Someone

Will have to clear his desk

And I suppose bring the box
To his widow

Or was Tim a bachelor?

I can't remember 

We huddle closer

As the tow truck takes his car

Disappearing beyond the gate

And it’s gone

So quickly

That we get a head start

At putting other things and people
in the spaces
he has left