daydreams

as i drifted in and out of day-malaise
yawning at each smacking of the chalk
the blackboard began to ripple
into tiny continuous waves
before i knew what had happened
to the two dozen others around me
there i was at the stream
the one to the side
of stephens state park
the algae swirled, itself a rivulet 
from the edge of my damp memories
and into the daydream’s waterway
carried along over muddy water
under bugs and mosquitos
buzzing in swarms
like clouds made of chitin
while mallards floated and bobbed along
and quacked
my father having left
i had never been fishing
but no matter here
i cast my line into the furrowed stream
and peered within the flumey murk
waiting with sweat for what felt like hours
when my line went taut
and i nearly forgot
that i needed to reel
but i caught myself in time
and clumsily pulled in
a goofy-looking trout
i sighed in relief
and let out a good chuckle
“what’s so funny?”
the stream became stiff
black
and filled with equations
“could you tell us perhaps
the humor in quadratics?”
i had no answer
“why waste your time
in such lazy daydreams?”
i had no answer
nor any more
until the bell rung
with some sunshine left
so i biked up to stephens
rolled up to the stream
and there were the swirls of algae
and there were the swarms of insects
and there were the floating ducks
and there in the murk
i swore i had seen
the same silly trout
flicker its fin and swim to the depths
i knew at that moment with a fervent desire
my fate had been waiting at the local pawn shop
where i could pick up a fishing rod
one i could afford
for tomorrow afternoon