at four this morning, as i lay awake in bed listening to the wind smack rain against the window in short, erratic bursts, it occurred to me that i’d forgotten to do an assignment. i was supposed to write an ode to some inanimate object, and it’s due today at one. so i’ve written an ode to the O key on my keyboard, but i’ve taken out all of the O’s. and boy, does it ever suck.

h, little key
resting happily in my keyb ard
sandwiched between the i and the p
just like the thers, and yet
s r und and perfect, essential
with ut y u, there w uld be n l ve
n c kies, n m vies with p pc rn
n new n teb ks in c ffeeh uses
n cl uds r sn wst rms
h, little key
life with ut y ur square plastic self
w uld be n g d
h, little key
y u are n t superflu us