"government bureau" by Madeline Langan

(Based on George Tooker’s Government Bureau.)

is this

it?

the shuffling and

a motorcade of incandescent

dial tones. anonymous spheres of shifting.

brutal nothing in beige and something sordid.

trails of loafers. boots side-eyeing the coat hem

of the woman’s pink wool jacket

my wife has from ann taylor loft.

her hair is covered by poppy red cloth. i

think her to be a brunette underneath the

waiting. fogged glass encasing sullen eyes

that will not receive rest tonight as i ruminate

how easily i take in her name face date-of-birth

and how easily i forget it.

Madeline Langan is an artist, writer, and architecture student pursuing her Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute with a minor in Literature and Writing. Her work is forthcoming in the Ghost City Review, Westchester Review, Vagabond City, and elsewhere. She can also be found modeling tiny houses, watering her plants, and on: madelinelangan.cargo.site.