Max rises early
and dressed in his smart pin
stripe suit
descends the stairs
for the inevitable meeting of
bowl, cornflakes and spoon
on the breakfast table
the paper tells of a madman called
André
sent to prison for shooting into
a crowd
the clock on the wall tells the
time
the chairs all stand in a simple
line
outside the clouds float in the
bright blue sky
inside the telephone sits silently
in the hall
Max decides to smoke a pipe
and finds it in its proper place,
neatly labelled
an apple for dinner, herring
and chips for tea
a bowler hat to wear for work
the train is late and so he walks
down the middle class suburban
roads
In the office he takes his place
in the neat rows of desks and
starts to work
the columns of figures are neatly
marshalled
while his co-workers consider
the soaps
the office clock measures the
hours
the coffee machine delivers hot
drinks
A brisk walk at dinner time through the zoo
and the zebras watch him from
their field
The afternoon is much the same
The photocopiers light slides from side to side
the telephones bring news of
facts and figures
and all the while the sun slowly
sets
that evening the tube train rattles
down the tunnel
delivering the commuters to their
homes
Max watches the television with his wife
while they eat their tea and
then they go up to bed
lying next to each other in
stripped pyjamas
while they peacefully sleep