The Office

I hardly recognized it anymore.

There were a few familiar faces,

But everyone else was a stranger.
Who were they?

The room felt colder.

All our old pictures had been replaced.

I wondered,

What happened to this place?

It was very different when I was there.

Warm and kind.

These newbies didn’t know me.

They had no idea what I did for that place.

Some even had the nerve to complain about my presence.

People used to respect me there.

I ruled that office with a pen and a mouse.

Why was I there if my time had passed?

Many of them may not have known my name,

But it’s those who did that I looked out for.

I didn’t visit that place in hopes of taking over.

My time to reign was done for.

All I wanted was to make sure they were okay.

I suppose there was also a part of me

That hoped by standing where I used to

I would feel a great sense of pride.

I did not.

Being there was painful.

A constant reminder of what I no longer had.

I endured the sadness for them.

But as they moved on I knew I had to too.

So with time I paid fewer and fewer visits.

During my last visit I felt indifferent about the room.

I thought I would be overwhelmed by sadness.

But to my surprise not a single tear was shed.

It was on my drive home that I realized

That office was always just a room.

And the job I had there was always just a job.

Those things alone meant nothing to me.

It was always about the people.

The people I had worked with were amazing.

They breathed life into that office

And made it feel like home.

So I wasn’t saying goodbye.

I was only leaving behind a room

Which was now nothing more than a hollow shell.