Jessea L. Vaughan's poem pictures a troubled mind that other people try to distract. The distractions are ordinary and a little funny: a messy room to clean and a list of adjectives to learn. The idea seems to be that if the owner of the mind is busy enough, the worries will fade.
The poem suggests it doesn't work. Both tasks come with deadlines, due "by the following day," so the busywork becomes another source of pressure. The speaker names the result plainly: "stress and confusion." The troubles stay, and now they share space with homework and housekeeping.
The mood is weary and slightly wry. The flat, list-like tone sounds like someone who is tired and not really being helped. The opening line and the ending repeat each other, with only a small change. That circle makes the mind feel stuck, still full and still troubled, no matter what gets piled in.