"For Those Who Suffer from Chronic Mismanagement of Their Own Time"

This poem is from a book I bought over the summer at a quaint little bookstore at MSU. It wasn't until I'd made the purchase that I realized the author was a lesbian feminist and a good half of the poems were about a completely unfamiliar world of bitterness towards men that I could not relate to. This poem though, fits to a T. Stupid left-align won't let me indent the way it's written. The steps are important, so don't skip any. :-p


Leave work one half hour early.
Think of all you could be doing to fill up
this small treasure of open time.
On a large sheet of paper
make a list of every one of those things you know
you ought to be doing
or rather, make a chart.
Write upside down, along the edges and in corners.
Draw detailed diagrams with step by step instructions.
Include intricate illustrations, underlining,
and exclamation points!
Don't stop
until every square inch of space is full.
Make it as demanding, as imposing,
as impossible as you like.

Make it as demanding,
and imposing
and impossible as your life.
Read it over and take it all in.
Next, crease the chart evenly into a fold
along the edge.
Turn it over and fold again.
Continue until you have pleated the entire surface
into a paper fan.
All the words and diagrams will make
interesting designs along the edges and will be
completely illegible.
Fan in hand,
stretch out full length in a comfortable spot.
Gently fan yourself to sleep.