isn't it a beautiful day
to not study for finals?

honestly, **** finals.
the world is so much more
than multiple-choice questions and essays.
there are no bubbles to fill in
in the world
just the kind of bubbles we blew as children
and popped some and watched
the others
float away into the sky.

the sun is shining bright today
brighter than my computer screen
and the grey clouds overhead
keep in the warmth
so much better than my head keeps in facts.

today is a beautiful day
to take a walk around the wintery neighborhood
to stomp on the last patches of snow on the ground
and squelch through the mud left behind.
today is a beautiful day
to look up at the sky through the trees
grey through black?
no, so much more
brown and green and blue and gold
and all the colors of this january world

never the black-on-white of test papers
or the monotony of students sitting in rows of desks

today is a beautiful day
to live
not just to exist
not just to sit there reading and rereading notes
but to go out
and live
in this beautiful world.