Uses Time (un)Wisely - Dec. 12, 2022

now I know why

they gave me that grade

for all those hours I stared

out my 5th grade window

they thought I was wasting time

getting nothing done

as I daydreamed

like I’m doing this moment

except now I’m tracking

a black and white gnatcatcher

who seems in a big hurry

to work the pond

perhaps he felt lazy today

or over-preened or flirted

too long with the girls

as he now rushes to pluck

appetizers from the water

in a sun-slipping afternoon

the sorriness for idleness

will come with the darkness

and he'll wish the earlier light

had uttered a hungry reminder

while I have squeezed

something from this day

and my night will arrive

just a bit brighter