how can I write my paper
when I'm getting married?
there's a wedding to plan,
well, not too much planning-
we'll drive to the beach and
declare ourselves married
and not tell anyone.
it can be our secret

a glorious secret that itches to be told
like a plaster cast on a healthy arm

how can I focus on something
so mundane as literary analysis
when there's an orange sunset to run off toward?
pale sand cleaving to the soles of our feet,
and seashells, and buzzing radios,
seagulls sifting through trashcans nearby
and the rank stench of dead clams coming from the jagged rocks
their cracked clam-shells dotting the dark.

how can I pay attention to this silly boring world
when I'm getting married?