Encounter with an Orphaned Hour

An accidental pleasant hour
In the midst of obligations,
Is the finest, least human thing—

You didn’t plan this moment out.
You aren’t basking in your reward.
The surveillance state recording

The twitches of the citizens
Won’t be triggered by your quiet.
The body has put away aches

For some inscrutable reason
And rests, contented, in a chair.
There were no negotiations,

No answered prayers, no rituals,
No discussed coordinations—
It happens things feel nice right now.

How inhuman. Unaccomplished,
Insignificant, and artless,
The accidental pleasant hour.