No tests, no grades

The back-to-school display
at the office supply store
lures me in like fish to bait.

I'm not headed back to school, 
but still, I walk the aisle stocked
with zippered pencil cases, glue
sticks, pencils, pens, and markers.

My pace slows and my finger,
extended now like a dowsing
rod, glides across pile upon pile
of 3-ring binders and marbled
composition books that come
in red, blue, pink, purple,
and green.

I reach for one, standard black,
but pull back. Not because
I don't want it, I do.

But I don't need it.

I have notebooks, glue sticks,
pens, and pencils at home.

The real attraction, I know,
is the memory of a fresh start,
the spit and polish of the first day
of school, and the promise of a new
routine, where learning and discovery
are the order of the day.

Whether or not you're headed
back to school, back-to-school season
is a good reminder that we can begin anew.

I've decided to outline and plan a new
project I'm working on, like course work.
To write a syllabus for myself, to map out
what I want to do ... all with the luxury
of no tests or grades.
 

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