8 a.m. English Composition 101

i remember standing in front
of my
first college professor.
doctor Bodnar.
a sharp man
in a grey suit with a starched
white shirt.

he wanted to talk to me
about the paper i wrote.
telling me i showed promise.
he smelled of perfume.
his hair
was slicked back
and his skin was like polished
olives.
neat, clean, a magazine model.

after talking
at length about my first
attempt at an essay, he looked
at my hands and said.

are you still biting your  nails?