8 A.M. in the morning
The alarm clock blares to life
Still half asleep
I shuffle out of bed
Up to where it sits screaming
I take a good look at the time
Class won’t start till 9
I resolutely, shut it off
And climb back into bed
Promising myself to be up in 15
My slumber abruptly ends
And I gape across the room
At the clock which
Now shows half past 9
Seeming to smugly convey to me
‘I told you so”
Springing onto my feet
As though bitten by a bee on my bottom
I rush to the washroom for a quick bath
But somebody’s already inside
Singing away to glory or so he thinks
Finally he emerges from within at 10
With an air of satisfaction
Which gives one the impression
That he’s had a bath
For the first time
In at least a couple of hundred years
I enter and am out in a jiffy
And rush back to my room
Getting dressed as quickly as I can
I head to where my transportation awaits
Halfway to the garage I realize
That my keys are absent
Already half past 10
I rush back and another 5 go by
Before I finally manage
To lay my hands on them
On my way to the garage again
Something still looks amiss
And I return to my room once again
To gather my head gear, cursing
A quarter to 11
I reach my vehicle
Don the helmet and
Somehow manage to bring to life
The old junk I call a bike
On my way to college I begin to muse
Repentant at the dismal state of affairs
I finally gather enough courage
And promise myself to put my life in order
Once and for all from this moment hence
I finally reach my destination
Park and enter
The proverbial hallowed ground
Of my apparently esteemed institution
But am fairly perplexed
Not to find a single soul around
Except a stray dog basking in the sun
Who seems equally puzzled to see me
And suddenly I realize
“O shit! It’s a Sunday!”
-Kartik Shastry
