a notice on your desk.

you will find a notice on your desk at the end of today,
one single sheet of pink paper from a pad of
400 sister pink papers.

this one telling of all the events that lie before you; the friction between your right shoe and the carpet as you turn to leave the office, it will tell of the sound of car keys being fished from your purse and all the meandering thoughts that bloom in your aging brain as you drive home.
under the pre-printed header of While You Were Out will be messages from tomorrow’s phone calls that you will avoid, there will be scribbles of angry faces found in a morning meeting.

you should read this humble, diminutive scrap of delightfully colored paper. see the scratch of someone’s initials, the person who composed this. it is insignificant, an intern, a secretary, it doesn’t matter. it says you will run out of sticky notes this week and the contract you thought was signed has been set afire by corporate arsonists. the pink paper seems to suggest you would be happy about this. you should read this notice on your desk at the end of today.

it will say that you forgot to pay your electric bill and instead used the money to drink lots cheap wine. you will think this isn’t worthy of an office memo, but the regulations on inter-department communications has been held ransom for years now, so there’s no proving it. all the evidence is captive of a group of Marxist shipping clerks who wanted the keys to the supply closet; but the CEO does not negotiate with terrorists. so, this little slip of girlish-hue will continue to divulge despite your opinion.

you will need to flip the paper over and get the rest of what you will remember you should have done.

it will tell you how you forgot to call your mom and how you called your dad to forget. it will sing that incessant tune from high school and cook your dinner tonight. it will remind you that you will not bring the directions and you will miss your friends. if you lean in real close you will see the dog hair on your bedspread and plaque between your teeth. it says you should have been nicer, in general, throughout your whole life.

but what the notice will not say, no matter how much it so intently wants to, is what you really want to know. and that’s the part you will pay attention to.