These chairs are extremely close together.
I can’t tell if this armrest
is mine
or yours
or the girl’s behind us.
Whoever designed this room has never been a college student
or he would have known
that chairs this close together
aren’t conducive to learning.
Because how am I supposed to concentrate
on history
or science
or whatever’s actually being taught,
when I’m too worried about accidentally kicking you
when I cross my legs?
In my brain it sounds like,
“The radio was introduced in--” Oh!
Did he just brush my arm?
I felt it.
Did he feel it?
Does he know he brushed my arm?
This chair creaks.
When I shift to one side, you
and I
and the girl behind us
will know.
My legs are falling asleep.
It doesn’t help
that the air conditioner’s not on
or that this room has no windows,
but the worst part is
trying,
trying to pay attention
when all I want to do
is ask you
if we can share the armrest.
Hi Emily, I liked your poem a lot. dw
ReplyDeleteI love this poem! You really did such a wonderful job! It is definitely funny and easily relatable. I love the simplicity of your work. I would have never thought to write about armrests, but I am so happy that you did! It makes me want to start writing about simple things life that seem to have more impact on us than we think, so to speak. My only major suggestion would be to remove some of the commas in the last two stanzas. You never used too many commas at the beginning of your poem, so I do not think that you need more towards the end. Also, you might be able to move "My legs are falling asleep" to the third stanza where it seems to fit better as you are already talking about the legs there. Those are just some suggestions! Other than that, I think it is great! Good job!
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