Poem - Waking up later

I wish I were a morning

Person

Bright and chipper

First thing at 6 a.m.

Hopping easily out of bed

One stretch, then ready

To meet the day

Instead, I force myself

Not to press snooze

By opening the curtains a crack

Joyous if sky is blue

or even bluish

Stonily determined when it’s dark and gray.

At night in bed

I feel every crumb of dirt

The cat’s paws left undaintily

On my sheets

From her luxurious cat naps

Earlier.

I twist this way and that

All the many to dos

that are and are not yet

on my list taunt me.

“You’ll forget us,”

they threaten, drawing me back

to full alertness

I combat them sleepily

“You’ll still be there tomorrow,”

I mumble and pull the quilt

Over my ears

Breathe in and out,

I tell myself

Feel the air in your nostrils

Cool in, warm out

Breathe in and out.

12 October 2017