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There’s an old joke, “Procrastinate NOW, because
the sooner you fall behind, the longer you’ll have to catch up.”
Ha ha.

While a lot of students around here, even the good ones,  
are procrastinators, I’m a diagnosed pre-crastinator.
I obsess over syllabuses and start things immediately.
I've got rough drafts of things due three months from now.
I’m a planner. Leisure time makes me itch.

I say that to say this, I’m reaping my rewards.
There’s a palpable layer of fret in the air.
Everyone's (the seniors) talking about their theses,
and how they need to start it—first thing yesterday.
I just listen, playing Flappy Bird, because I’m done.

My professor handed my thesis paper back the other day
he said, “This is good.” At first, I was delighted, quietly rocking it inside.
Then I floundered, becoming somewhat indignant. Why’d he sound surprised? Because I handed it in a little (80 days) early?
But soon enough, I was back to happiness.
I’ll have to defend it one day, but I’ll go first, wait and see.

Shall we wax poetic?

I’m like the sea, always restless
and I enjoy the flavor of honest effort.
I dub snark, and the little, jealous glances,
I blunt them with chey smiles, while thinking,
I’ll row my boat, and you row yours—just a little slower.’

Let them whisper me freakish
though I win a thousand crowns,
the real pleasure lies in my gun slinger’s sang-froid,
to finish the commission first and be the best.
.
.
Songs for this:
Let Me Down Easy by Gang of Youths
Let Me Go by CAKE
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 02/20/25:
Flounder = struggle in knowing what to think, do or say.

dub = ignore
chey = shy
sang-froid = a coolness, under pressure
There is dust on
the wall.
I watch it hang in
little wisps.
I’m distracted by  
everything.
All of it.
The small and large
items of life have me
chasing my tail, and avoiding  
the pen.

I postpone writing, like I’m
ending a bad relationship.
I avoid the tough
conversation.
I dance with impotence and
procrastination, like they are
lovely women.

I need to write.
I must create.
But there is an  
antagonist at work in the
trivial details of my
existence.
It smells like copper.
It hides the ink from  
my mind.

It would rather I do
anything else:
promote
market
*******
dream
sleep
eat
watch TV
or sometimes,
just stare at the
dust on the wall.
Here is a link to my YouTube channel where I read my poetry from my recent book, Seedy Town Blues Collected Poems, available on Amazon.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryqLr9ehn7Q

I have also been experimenting with building a website.
www.thomaswcase.com
Archer Feb 1
Drowning in
Dread
From toes to
Head
Falling a
Part
From end to
Start
Weeping clear
Tears
Indulged in
Fears
Loss of my
Rights
Losing the
Fights
Illegal mar
Iages
High priced tar
Iffs
Corrupt and
Gone
Mauled and
Drawn
Hicking up
Sobs
Filling cupped
Jaws
Screaming in
Pain
Shouting in
Vain
Drowning in
Dread
From toes to
Head
Unsaid Nov 2024
I tell myself, Not now, but soon,
As hours slip by and day turns to moon,
Each task a shadow, a whisper, a weight,
Pushed to the future, left for fate.

The list grows longer, a towering spire,
Each undone deed fuels the fire,
A creeping pressure, a heavy chain,
The echoes of time call out my name.

One more scroll, I plead, I stall,
As unfinished work begins to sprawl,
The walls close in, the air turns tight,
Procrastination steals my fight.

I see the path I should have tread,
The steps unwalked, the words unsaid,
Yet here I sit, in stillness bound,
With every choice, I lose more ground.

The weight of delay becomes my cage,
A storm of regret, a quiet rage,
Trapped in a cycle, I fight to break free,
But the grip of avoidance clings to me.

Still, I rise with a trembling start,
A small rebellion, a beating heart,
One task, one step, one fleeting win,
A crack of light lets hope begin.

For though the mountain looms ahead,
And doubts still whisper in my head,
Each effort, no matter how slight or small,
Chips at the fortress, crumbles the wall.

Procrastination, you won’t define,
The rhythm, the purpose, the life that’s mine,
I’ll fight your hold, though the battle is long,
With steady resolve, I’ll grow strong.
Kayla S Nov 2024
Supposed to be working on school 8-2.
I ended up on my phone scrolling through
photos of me and you
of the things we used to do.

So instead of working on my assignment.
I'm thinking about how our bond went
our entwinement
turned to misalignment.

With my classes needing sketches drawn
and memories brought upon
I'm procrastinating on
the classes that make me yawn.
lol silly
Nat Lipstadt Nov 2024
a single word,
rejiggered
refound in the endless, floundering
someday~possibility bin of my
unbalanced brain, noted forlornly
on March 13, 2017@5:28 pm, the
trigger unpulled, the triggering,
long forgot, but my sense of duty
quizzes me, howling,
“how long you gonna run
that body’s words~worthiness down,”
leaving it orphaned, I’m surrounded
by finger pointing, some grand waggling,
and my genetic J-guilt is overwhelming,

rejigger my schedule,
rejigger my responsibilities,
email excuse~me apologies


and think upon the vastness
of the worded task, an eleventh
commandment that requests
a close examination of your
life’s intentions, and begin to
curse my two thumbs stumbles
in to files, chapters, notions
best forgotten for reasons quite
good enough

**** this uncovery discovery
and my sense of injustice that
now condemns both of us to a
tirade of remorse reminiscences
removal and so many re-verbs
-erations shaking me up that
this task now demands is
an old battleship
recommissioned,
a ship now
forced from retirement,
wantingretrofitting,
when I’m, my useful life
way past
my/our sell/use-by-date

so I do what any good theater loving
fool do, start singing
“Tomorrow, Tomorrow,
you're only a day away”

and beg for a one day extension,
a 24 hour forgiveness pass,
cause pressing matters
demand my immediate attention, like
finishing my epic life’s œuvre littéraire!

“How I Procastinated My Life Away”
lucky us, the next word was “unhinged”
Àŧùl Nov 2024
I
Did
Realise
In Time,
To succeed
And my dad
Guided me to
The epitome of
Worldly success.
Now I'm a beacon,
For you and others,
In this complete fray.
You have my example,
I realised that I have to,
Without procrastinating,
Put efforts for success too,
And for a lifestyle achieving,
I practised writing mock tests,
Not any more novels, none bro,
For I realised that I'm mi'l class.
The Indian mi'l class put efforts,
Without these, there's no bun,
So, I solved mock tests daily,
I didn't shy away and run,
Put my efforts regularly,
You too need just study.

No legislator will think of you,
For you come from the mi'l class,
And from the gen'l cat'ry too.
My HP Poem #2022
©Atul Kaushal

Meta AI's opinion:
"The Flame of Realisation" inspires with its message of perseverance and hard work.

Key takeaways:

1. Personal growth: Overcoming procrastination, realizing potential.
2. Fatherly guidance: Valuing parental support.
3. Success through effort: Emphasizing daily practice (mock tests).
4. Middle-class pride: Recognizing the importance of hard work.
5. Social context: Addressing societal expectations, legislation.

Poetic devices:

1. Metaphor (Flame of Realisation)
2. Alliteration (mi'l class, gen'l cat'ry)
3. Repetition (I realised)
4. Rhyme

Themes:

1. Self-improvement
2. Family influence
3. Perseverance
4. Social awareness

Your poem encourages readers to:

1. Take responsibility for success
2. Value hard work
3. Overcome procrastination

Inspiring others with your journey!

Would you like to:

1. Discuss overcoming procrastination techniques?
2. Explore the impact of parental guidance?
3. Analyze societal expectations vs. individual goals?
4. Share more poetry or experiences?
Lizzie Bevis Nov 2024
In passing hours,
the clock unwinds,  
as efficiency dissolves
into wasting time
and with idle hands,
the moments slip,  
each second lost,
the clock still ticks…

As they continue to believe
that there is plenty of time
to fulfil and achieve
some sort of half-arsed
productivity?!

©️Lizzie Bevis
Sorry…I was venting!
Children are something else sometimes!
After I calmed down I found humour in my words.
Please enjoy :)
Austin Oct 2024
Do we value money more than the time it takes to achieve it?
We waste our lives for it?
I waste my life for what?
My priorities for what? Missions, goals, dreams, for what?
I waste life on things I find more interesting than essays about people long put in the dust.
I hunger for highs, good times, but I get lows, work is important but how much–
for certain?–
I do not know.
I draw back from application, while wishing for balance. Instead of working hard I found it easy to survive off of talent.
I want to learn,
yet haven’t grown,
to find the equipoise of work and play. I know what I do instead.
I spend my time lazily, convincing myself at every turn that tomorrow will wait for me,
that I’ll have time
and
enough time to finish everything, and everything well.
I recently started college, and procrastination is kicking my (yeah). School has been difficult and I haven't done a lot of writing. But this is something that i felt inspired to pen. thanks for reading :)
rooN Sep 2024
Time has run away from you.
"Ten more minutes" every day.
She was neglected, forsaken
yet she reached her hand out once again.
and still you continued to lay,
basking in a void of false diligence.
Tick tick
ten years have passed
and now it's too late to make up for your mistakes.
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