6:22am
(I forget the day), anyday – you pick
My world coalesces from a momentary nothingness
Into a thin, persistent whine
I reach blindly for the alarm clock to turn it off
Only to realize that I don’t have an arm to reach with
No- there it is, at my side, refusing to cooperate
Apparently some parts of my body need more sleep than others
I shift to use my other arm
Which is waiting with quiet deception the arrival of 6:30
And I somehow put this all together into the half-formed thought:
sleeeeep. 8 more minutes
but I can’t go back to sleep because the whining continues
this time accompanied by something cold and wet
sliding across my forehead
my dog’s insistent tongue
calling me awake
like the bursting of a dream bubble
these sharp points of reality enter my consciousness
I sigh, let out my dog, feeling the cold linoleum
Climb back into bed
Knowing that in a few minutes he will be sitting impatiently
At the door, whining until I let him back in –
This is a sure pattern I have deduced about the world.