Haggard Pencils

Black led marks me
as my atmosphere crashes
into numerous twinkling
specs. My head hits the desk,
tainted feelings of tiredness
mixed with fear. My stomach
churns with thoughts of giving
up. Murmurs of life silence
and the lecture is muted. I hunger
for relief, for an opportunity
of ten minutes without hovering
eyes and hand slamming attention
grabbers. My head bobs up
and down, my eyes pray
to stay open, it’s just too much
work to sleep in class.
Deidre Grotbo