I Finished My Homework
From the book When the Teacher Isn't Looking
I finished my homework.
It took me all night.
I tried to make sure
I got everything right.
I read every chapter
the teacher assigned.
My eyes grew so bleary
I nearly went blind.
I studied each problem
until my eyes burned.
Researched each detail,
leaving no stone unturned.
I finished my reading
and got out my pen
and pulled up a chair
at my desk in the den.
I answered each question.
I checked every one.
I wrote out my essays.
At last I was done.
By eight in the morning
I’d run out of fuel.
I packed up my backpack
and headed to school.
I handed the teacher
my homework, and then
I noticed, embarrassed,
I’d used the wrong pen.
The teacher looked puzzled.
I felt my heart sink.
I’d used my trick pen
with invisible ink.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 2
Topics: School Poems
Poetic Techniques: Hyperbole, Idioms, Irony, Narrative Poems
Word Count: 143
About This Poem
Do you ever feel like your teacher assigns way too much homework? Do you wish it didn’t take so long, or that there was an easier way to do it?
My book When the Teacher Isn’t Looking contains about 50 poems about all the silly things that happen at school, including Homework, I Love You, My Dog Does My Homework, My Computer Ate My Homework, and this one.
Of course, it’s not likely you have so much homework that you have to stay up all night to do it. So, this poem is a bit of an exaggeration. But, even though you probably never get as much homework as the kid in this poem, it may feel like it sometimes. You may not be able to change how much homework your teacher assigns, but what you can do is laugh at it. I hope this poem helps.
From the book When the Teacher Isn't Looking
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