The Post Office

Coins stacked like leaning towers of tilted soldiers Oh the stories they could tell, well traveled Phone rings, Hello, how may I help you? Receipt roll falls from the till, unraveled Could you tell me where my letter is today? It was posted last Thursday? Around a mile away? Unlikely, let me consult my crystal ball Of course, we’re the post office, we can answer all Questions, Ask away, Yes of course I know when your next benefit payment is, Not one single ounce of common sense, let me tell you this Story, Yes I want to hear your life story, of course I have time It’s not like the queue is wall to door lined Paper, And reams of it, more, paper, more ink, more jobs accrued The workload increases, more tasks to do You know? I don’t. No! How could I possibly have the answers To the question you haven’t asked yet, of course, this is standard Train tickets? I’m sorry we are not the train station It’s only been an hour and I’m losing my patience Quickly, I can’t meet your demand any faster, there are others in line There’s a clock on the wall, don’t ask me the time Wasters; The lot of them, the job centre crew, picking up their giro’s Unkept and impatient, write on their forms, when they leave the biro’s Dissapear, Oh I wish I could, Outside I can hear the birds singing Oh if I was a bird, this phone hasn’t stopped ringing All day, I’ve been counting out euros, filling in applications Not a moment to myself for the entire duration Of the day, It’s 2pm, when is lunch? We dare not say Just no more complaining for the rest of the day Tickets, Day tickets? For the bus? Don't be silly... Ohh the coach? And I’m still being polite with a calm, cool approach To the chaos, left on the floor, sweets from the pic n mix, an unsupervised kid, Does your mum know you’re here? bags a kilo of sweets but only has a quid Fifty-Fifty, The chance that I’ll actually get lunch before three The queue’s to the door and it’s just Sue and me Waiting, Always waiting for the chance of a break Cos our patience is wearing, how much can one take Your time? Wasting your time? My time, always frustrated, people complaining the queue is too long, I’m tired of explaining, our voices are straining, To be heard, Please queue with some patience, You'll soon be back home We will meet your needs before even our own and we’re trying our best but there’s so much to do. At the post office.