this poem
is being written
as a 'free assignment.'
i can write
anything i want on this page
as long as i use the words
gruel, embezzle, and
innocuous at some point.

oh how clever of me
i just did.
this is a poem about what happens
when homework
devours my
life.
i'm running out of things
to tell my friends
when they ask me how
i'm doing,
what's new,
all that business.

this afternoon, during history class
after the test,
before the movie
(we are watching
Casablanca)
i sat quietly and read
bukowski, who tried to make
poetry out of everything.
he was a sad man,
bukowski.