Procrastination – a poem for writers by Brynna Leanne Leslie

 

Coffee, slippers – check.

Leave your phone upstairs,

You can write this thing,

You’ve just got to sit in front of the screen and stare.

Wait, did I feed the cat?

Did I check my email? Shake out the mat?

Have I paid my bills? Did I cancel my appointment?

Surely, I’ll need to reschedule after that.

 

Coffee, slippers, keyboard – check.

Did I forget to call my mom?

Did the mess on the counter get cleared up?

I’d better just see if they dropped the bomb.

Wait, did I get dinner out of the freezer?

I’ll make a grocery list while I wait,

Shoot – I have to do my physio and brush my teeth,

And plan my future – I can’t leave THAT to fate.

 

Coffee, slippers, keyboard, neck pillow – check.

Maybe I need a walk around the block.

Did I write to the council about the garbage?

Has the city remembered to fix the clock?

Speaking of time, have I made a schedule?

I meant to call the dentist about that wobbly tooth.

Have I done my training and submitted my resume?

Did anyone book my crafts into the county fair booth?

 

Coffee, slippers, keyboard, neck pillow, notebook – check.

Oh, darn I meant to eat some food.

I yawn as I open the fridge once again,

Realizing I’m in a sleepy mood.

I forgot to make the bed this morning;

Perhaps I should take a very small nap.

All the good ideas come when I meditate anyway,

And the cat will likely snooze in my lap.

 

Coffee, slippers, keyboard, neck pillow, notebook, massage chair – check.

I’m sure I have all I need now.

But first I’ll need to answer the phone,

Then do my makeup and go milk the cow.

Did I forget to get gas and buy a suitcase?

Wait, did I lock the cow gate?

First, I’ll try on my bathing suit, shampoo my hair,

Have I done all I can to procrastinate?

*** 

Brynna Leanne Leslie has been a freelance writer and producer for 25 years. She is working on a middle-grade trilogy. Brynna divides her time between Ottawa and the Laurentians. She does not own a cow.

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