It's All In The Details

I tell my creative writing students to show vs. tell, and I lead them through exercises to try and get them to do that. To be fair, I always try these exercises myself, so I can be sure they're not too difficult; plus, I'll have an example to show and give them a chance to pick apart my work if they so desire.
Today's assignment was to write a list of your daily activities as a poem, and try and communicate an emotion through that list.
Here's my attempt:

5:00 AM alarm clock rings

Snooze, repeat, feed baby, snooze, repeat

Exercise, wash, get dressed, feed baby again

Kiss everyone goodbye. Don’t lose recess time. Have a good day at work. Be a good baby, drink your bottles.

Bye Mommy.

Drive to work while drinking diet coke and eating toaster struessel that isn’t toasted all the way. Bleh.

Walk in, walk up, walk down to office, walk back.

Why am I getting an D in your class?

Can I get all my missing work?

Pass out papers. Read. Talk. Teach. Repeat.

Eat lunch - prepackaged low fat brekfast sandwich, orange, golden grahms bar. DIET COKE!

Prep hour. Grade. Grade. Prepare. Grade. Repeat.

Bell rings. Start class. Phone rings.

Can you send so-and-so down to the office?

Do you have a second? I need to know what can only be told to me in the space of two hours.

 

Pass out papers. Read. Talk. Teach. Repeat.

Bell rings. Stretch out. Relax for five minutes.

Meetings.

We’re going to need you to do this new thing that should only take you five mintues a day, every day, but it will really take an hour, minimum, but if you cared you would do it without complaint.

 

Drive home.

Pick up kids.

Mommy, I lost recess time again.

Eli, for the last time, get your coat on.

Struggle to get them in the car.

Struggle to get them out of the car.

Turn on PBS kids.

Feed baby.

Feed family.

Homework for Kindergarten? Read “Grandpa’s Cookies.” Hurried is a hard word to understand.

 

Bedtime. Brush teeth. Pajamas. Read stories.

 

Feed baby. Rock her to sleep.

So tired.

 

Oh, I have a husband? Did I forget to notice you?

How was your day?

Good. I love you, and did I mention there's a ton of other things we both ought to be doing now…please.

Or not.

Eat cake while watching brain-candy TV.

Wash-up. Brush teeth. Flossing is important.

Wrinkle cream?

Collapse into bed.

Oh, wait.

Set alarm for 5:00 AM.

Repeat.