The Timetabler Poem by Tony Jolley

Strange perfection.
Unexpected.
Tenderly playing in the corner of your mouth.

A single ivory gleam glinting between lightly-lipsticked lips
Slightly pursed in pixel-point concentration;
A hint of a smile dawning upon
Darker matters in hand:
A double tasking,
A parallel processing,
Veneering what you’d rather be and be doing
Over the bland screen-scapes of spreadsheets and cells
That you had no choice but to fill.

I caught it nevertheless,
Even running at right-angles to me:
A flat-out, full-length, outstretched arc sort of a catch:
The type that leaves you sprawled, winded yet triumphant, in a pall of dust,
The ball clasped tightly between your fingers,
A gratified grin from ear to ear,
A tear in the sleeve,
And a friction-red scrape in the skin as a memory medal
That won’t be felt or even found ‘til morning.

You can throw me that kind of smile anytime.