Wake up, unplug the clock.
Get up too late,
skip a meal and hurry to leave.

A disappointed lecture,
a promise to do better.
Flip through the papers, forehead meets desk.

Leave for lunch.
Order nothing.
Stare at the blank wall with shadowy corners.

More papers, more flipping,
more disappointment.
Grab the keys, start the car, sigh to the empty seats.

Return to the empty room,
smile to no one, pretend to be happy.
Alone, go to bed, the cold blankets don't embrace like a lover.

Rewind and repeat this lugubrious existence.