Procrastination

The horror of a blank word document,

Progressing at only one word per minute,

At this rate I will never feel confident,

But the deadline is pulling me in like a magnet.

I can hear the white space mocking me,

And the surprisingly unpredictable word count only intimidates me more.

All I desire is to flee,

But two stanzas of a poem isn’t nearly enough to reach shore.

Procrastination: a skill I have mastered during high school.

No matter what it may be—a signature, a project, a thank-you card—

I will put it off until the very last second, and still appear cool,

Even though I am dripping with stress in the middle of the schoolyard.

It’s not just a bad habit, but an addiction;

If you haven’t experienced it yet, procrastination will destroy you.

It will become harder and harder to reach completion,

And when it’s too late, you will have totally changed your view.

As you may guess, I am writing this poem the night before,

Staring away at the terrifying white space, praying for inspiration,

I’m not sure if the result will be something I will adore,

But I must continue for the sake of progression.

Cutting to break provides a short, sweet release,

But the dread of my task does not stay dormant for long.

And as much as I try to be my own police,

I quickly prove to be not that strong.

DeMar’s* words of advice ring in my hear:

“Action alleviates anxiety”;

The glorious aphorism makes everything clear,

So I try to maintain my productivity.

Not only is it stressful, but it’s humiliating:

The feeling of incompetence, not being able to carry out a simple task,

It leaves your self-esteem squabbling,

So you cover up the embarrassment with a mask.

You feel inclined to complain,

Thinking that somehow empathizing with others will make your workload less bleak,

But no: it will actually have the opposite effect, and to quote DeMar again:

“Complaining makes you weak.”

But once you learn to persevere,

And the end result finally becomes clear,

You’ll feel incredibly satisfied,

And your work ethic will leave you dignified.

Although procrastination is tempting,

Remember the long-term consequences,

And to quote my eighth grade science teacher,

“Just do the damn thing.”

So as I fight my senioritis to finish up these last few lines,

I can finally bring an end to my whines,

And I only hope that I have learned my lesson,

For my future success depends on it. 

*Mr. DeMartini, my teacher during junior and senior year