Mr. Pause-Before-Yes — Sleeps On Every Email

Lyrics

The screen is a blue window at ten PM.
The cursor blinks a question, a heartbeat of light.
He reads the lines once.
He reads them again.
The heat rises slow in the chest.
A reply forms in the fingers, fast and sharp.
A digital sword, half-drawn from the sheath.
But the hand pulls back.
The fingers lift from the keys.
He closes the lid.
This is Mr. Pause-Before-Yes.
He sleeps on every email.
He walks the anger 'round the block on a leash.
Lets the night air cool the feeling.
Because wisdom is a slower creature.
And Prudence… is a man who took a walk first.
The click of the leash on the collar.
The dog sighs, patient, knowing the ritual.
Out on the pavement, under the sodium lamps of October.
The words from the screen lose their sharp edges.
He comes back inside, types a careful draft.
And saves it.
To the folder where the ghosts of bad ideas live.
How many wars were never fought?
How many bridges never burned?
Because a man decided the answer could wait for the morning.
How many friendships were preserved in the quiet of that draft folder?
There are no receipts for the fire you don't start.
No monuments to the argument you don't have.
This is Mr. Pause-Before-Yes.
He sleeps on every email.
He walks the anger 'round the block on a leash.
Lets the night air cool the feeling.
Because wisdom is a slower creature.
And Prudence… is a man who took a walk first.
Morning.
The smell of coffee from a ceramic mug.
The draft opened with a clear head.
A sentence softened here.
A comma added there.
He clicks send.
The work is done.