Poetry

I love the general emails that go round the whole company when there's something important to say. "You've left your lights on, green Fiesta with rusty wing and bronzed baby shoe hanging from rear-view mirror"; "A dirty brown bobble hat was left on the bus. It has a soup stain on the front and smells of sheep. Please claim it if it is yours"; "Whoever is not flushing the downstairs toilet should be aware that the Reception staff will be taking swabs this afternoon in an attempt to identify the culprit". That sort of thing. Today's, however, transcends the mundanity of courgettes for sale, poor hygiene and flat batteries and touches the very heart of the human condition and all its futility. I arrived this morning to find the following nestling in my inbox, gently trembling like a newborn faun, and was moved enough to share it with you. I present it exactly as I, and the rest of the company, received it:

A black tie with white diagonal stripes has been found
On the path in Olympus close.
It is now in the postroom
Thank you.

Beautiful. So moving, yet with a strength that belies the delicacy of the structure.

Carry on.