[Intro]
Three notes come back under the vents
The printer coughs, then thinks better of it

[Verse 1]
The story stays amber on the board
A named owner is chasing one last yes
The held story sits in the middle pane
A week ago, we'd have sent it already
I keep checking the clock
like staring could make it move

[Chorus]
Slower on purpose, I tell the screen
Slower on purpose, while the next joins the stack
The hold is right; the workload's real
A careful system still needs hands
and we're running short

[Verse 2]
The verification wall has one amber card
one source call still isn't back
Adrian walks by, reads the amber status
lets it wait, does not dress it up
The owner returns with a nod
No anthem, just "send" and "next."

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
By four, the growing queue is three deep
A second task arrives before the first can leave
One empty chair means the rest run long
Cold coffee leaves a ring on the desk
I see the point of the gate
I count the people it takes

[Chorus]
Slower on purpose, not every pause is lost time
Slower on purpose, when the room runs thin
The hold stays, and the work stays here
Good checks do not run by themselves
they take time and someone there
We built the safer way through
now somebody has to staff it

[Outro]
The room returns to ordinary noise
keys, low phones, Nina moving cards
Amber, green, amber again
I stop counting every pause as loss

[End]