misfit by Steve Brisendine

new calendar,
same old dreams
of broken reading glasses
and unpaired shoes

with somewhere
important to be
five minutes ago --

the last final for the degree
I never finished, maybe,
or a deadline to apply
for the job I already have

(if I could only wake up
and remember)



Steve Brisendine lives, works and remains unbeaten against the New York Times crossword puzzle in Mission, Kansas. His work has appeared in I-70 Review, Southern Quill, Modern Haiku and elsewhere, and he is the author of five collections of poetry. In his spare time, he tries to make himself seem far more interesting than he actually is.