sick leave

i am trying to work today but all i can do is watch

cursed tiktoks like the one where furby eats tiny plastic

humans for breakfast or where dobby does a pole dance

our remuneration reviews are coming up and i don’t know

if i have met my productivity target. does it take sick leave

into account? is it before or after holidays? do they know

that i keep a toothbrush under my desk, that i’ve been

sleeping in the office? i don’t know how to talk to people

anymore. i only know how to dry heave and watch a frog

in a tiny hat practice witchcraft. today i thought about work

and vomited. i watched it congeal. then i watched peppa

pig chase someone on grand theft auto. we have no food

and i ran out of gas on the north western motorway.

five missed calls from my team leader but i am unreachable

while watching the making of crunchy slime.

Zephyr Zhang 张挚 is sleepy, a geotechnical engineer and a sometimes-writer, in that order. They recently performed in the Auckland Theatre Company iteration of Scenes from a Yellow Peril. Zephyr is published in Starling, Mayhem, Oscen, and a range of independent zines.