Working without a Net

by Leo Love

On my desk at work
are photos of my
three children,
cut from milk cartons.

I like the original,
younger portraits in
their cream-colored
ceramic frames best.

The digitally age-progressed
versions (sponsored by
Ralph's Speedy Muffler Shops—
19 Valley Locations)

somehow don't
resonate with me.
Perhaps that's why I keep them
in that cheap plastic cube.

Tonight I dream
my youngest daughter
is cold and I try
to fix the problem by

rebooting her sweater,
but I can't find the
right combination of
buttons to press.

My colleagues rarely visit
my cubicle these days,
preferring to have our
conferences in theirs.

Often I dream I'm driving my
car from the back seat,
my arms and legs almost long enough
to steer and work the pedals.