To play a truant

I am a rule follower, usually afraid

To break norms, I believe there’s a price to be paid

Whenever you go against established protocol

Especially at work- therefore I cannot recall

The last time I was late, delinquent or absent

At work, at least by deliberate intent

And on the few occasions I failed to be timely

I was angry at myself, I felt quite guilty..

*

I don’t know why one day while I was stuck

In rush hour traffic, I felt like pushing my luck

And taking the next exit instead of heading to work

I wanted to be a truant, responsibilities I wanted to shirk

It sounded like a break from my life mundane

Excited about the prospect, I inched into the right lane

To take the next exit and drive far away

Dreaming of spending by myself a carefree day

*

When I came to the exit, I could not follow through

With my plan, my insecurities came to my rescue

And I drove to work, thinking of how irresponsible I would have been

If my wild plan had been realized, it would mean

Rescheduling my patients who needed medical care

Or overloading my colleagues, both of which would be unfair

The after-effects of my truancy would have been unpleasant

After returning home, I would have been repentant…

*

The nature of my work is intense, therefore no doubt

There are times when I feel like I am burning out

Traffic snarls and other annoyances add up too

Then I want to hide myself or run away, I do

But the rule follower in me reminds me I cannot

Just walk away, so I continue to work, and on second thoughts

I feel victorious when I power through a busy day

All my fantasies of truancy just fade away..