All for an assignment
They call it a computer lab
Even though the only experiments I’ve seen here
Involve voice modulations
Voice elevations
Voice de-elevations
The elevation of the voice of someone who
Gets so wrapped up in the revelation they are telling their
Friend
Buddy
Pal
Person
That their voice crosses the line
Only to be pushed back down
By a collective or singular (how dare you)
Hush
A hush push
If you will
A long long
Sheet of shushing sound
That shadows and shuts up
Both you and your assigned listener
Vocal neurons firing back and forth
Between you
In this
A fragment
Of the mosaic of interactions you will have today
With yourself and others included
But shush
I have an assignment to work on
Now where was I?
Right, the mosaic of interactions you will have
Wait till you see the final dynamic piece
Auctioned off for nothing more than your experience and
Your knowledge
And maybe a smile across your face
While everyone goes back to facing their sheets
And your assignments
But shush
I have an assignment to work on
Some of the grains of salt assigned to my fries
Clearly didn’t get the memo
Or the syllabus
Whichever comes first
Out from a place where “first”
Doesn’t have to be a competitive term
It isn’t a competition
This position’s repetition
Horse blinds us to one mission
Not mission Second
Third
Or Fourth
Just some of the positions that talk about First
But not First
First never talks about first
You know it’s a good meal when there’s silence
At the table
Working away on your assignment
Assigned at Birth
Your first steps
Your first breath
Your first assignment
First could just mean a first this
Or that
That assignment due tomorrow
Due by bedtime
Due by the extent of your peace of mind.
But shush
I have an assignment to work on
Gotta make a good impression on the Professor
First impressions don’t last right?
Or do they?
Or do they get over shadowed
By Second
Third
Or Fourth?
A number word like first
Doesn’t have to be a statistic
Of another life taken for their own want of better grades
Or appreciation
Or validation that this one test
These one tests
Are somehow a measure of
You
Or
How happy you should be
S. A. Ts
Essay Please
But shush
I have an assignment to work on
Assign yourself some happiness
Assign yourself all of it
On the first day of chillabus week
When you’re alone
with your thoughts
Who wanted them anyway?
The grades, that is, perhaps
Now they sit at the bottom
Of a take out box
Take out box
Take out books
Take out pen
Take out calculator
Take out file
Take out frustration
Take out anger
Take out fries (of course)
From the box
Because you can’t enjoy what you don’t bring in front of yourself.
But hey,
I have an assignment to work on.
