By Simran Sokhi
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Crawling through the Fitzpatrick,
Feeling its little heart tick,
A murmur of tired voices rises through Twinnie’s,
The opportunity to flee it cannot seize.
A caffeine-induced rush
Is its only reliable savior.
Finish that last integral,
You’ll do yourself a favor.
With yet another ten dollars blown on Chai Tea,
It’s time to get back to the grind.
Perkins, Bostock, Rubenstein, The Perk –
All ideal places for a species of this kind.
The Pratt Ratt trudges up to third-floor-Bostock,
Turns up the music and starts to jam;
“Study time”, it posts on Snap,
Then proceeds to spend an hour scrolling through The Gram.
“I think it’s getting
Kind of stuffy.
And now that soda in the corner is looking
Kind of comfy.”
The Ratt’s asleep.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
It’s got two midterms and that project due tomorrow,
But there’s no stopping the clock.
It jolts awake,
Sits straight upright.
The library is deserted,
There’s no one in sight.
A glance at the watch
Tells it the time.
4 a.m. – way too late,
Way past Duke Transport’s prime.
Only one option remains:
Call Duke Vans.
Another night sleep-deprived,
It wishes on homework there existed bans.
And that’s a day in
the life of a Pratt Ratt:
Scurring, Scooting, Sprinting
And pushing its problems under the mat.
Critique
Hi Simran!
This was a lovely lighthearted work. The rhyme scheme is fun and the truth in the poem is undeniable. In some places the rhythm is a bit clunky and encumbered, for instance, “and now that sofa in the corner is looking/kind of comfy” is a bit too wordy to match the previous line “I think it’s getting/kind of stuffy.” Overall it was an amusing and enjoyable read. Thanks for submitting!