Why Can't You Just...

why do you ask, "Why can't you just..."
...put it away when you're done with it?
...start your work before it's due?
...leave earlier so you get there on time?
...write your Christmas cards at Thanksgiving?
...plan out your week every Sunday?

can't you see I'm...
...writing a sonnet?
...inventing a new language?
...learning how fish breathe under water?
...planning my next fashion statement?
...reexamining the fabric of society with fresh eyes?

for today, why can't we just...
...forget your tight schedule and go swimming?
...make love on the pile of unfolded laundry?
...dance until dawn on a school night?
...run naked through the warm grass?
...come play in my world for a change?


Bradley Rhodes, April 2004