Permission to skip

being a light bulb

being a cog

can’t you pause too

just for a little bit?

If I shut off the lights

and freeze the machines

will you go in the breakroom

and actually take a break?

Will you actually read a book

and not just longingly look

at the machines on pause

through the glass

because the cogs in your ribs

are still running?

Will you think

about wiping the prints off them

with a cloth?

They’ve been there too long