My boss asked if I could cover next week

My boss asked if I could cover next week.

I looked at my calendar for five minutes straight.

Every square was full, every date was bleak,

overlapping text saying no to my fate.

Dentist, dinner, work, work, work—

all of it crammed in and stacked.

I couldn't find a single space to shirk,

not one white square to take something back.

I said no.

She looked disappointed, and I understood.

But the calendar is a map of my no's—

the yes's have already filled it good.