While performing mundane tasks
day after day
slipping into a robotic state,
still able to nod or blink,
but otherwise oblivious
to his daily goings on,
the professor sat quietly at his desk
staring blankly
at nothing In particular,
and was roused
by an overly eager student
impatiently banging a pencil
against a worn out book
At the time
it didn’t occur to him
that boredom
or lack of stimulation
was what put his brain
into a state of hibernation
Instead he sat daydreaming about
the irregular beat of a metronome
which in actuality was the erratic
banging of a pencil
against a worn out book

Reality
once again presented itself
leaving him to wonder
how long he was gone this time

©sc2014