Under a blanket of deadlines,

of exams proctored by a machine,

eye movements consistent

with a learner's lie,

I found solace tonight.

I decided not to give a shit.

My computer remained unopened,

a calendar a forgotten application,

not a thought given

to the glare of a grade book.

My bed was warm,

the cloth of sheets and PJs

wrapping around my body like a hug,

hiding me from the ghosts,

shed from the television screen.

Ghosts that wiped my tears

after the hours of repeated drama.

While my sheets slept,

I opened a page.

No, not a page full of fact,

the monotonous monster

which is studying,

but a separate world.

I ceased to exist,

become one with a novel,

falling deeper,

deeper.

I won't even remind myself

that tomorrow, I'll have to work.