Why am I Awake at Three A.M.?
I thought I had this licked
pushing, pushing, further
just one more verse, line, word.
At ten thirty-five my eyelids were heavy
with the weight of a long, full day.
But it wasn’t quite enough
to move me to unconsciousness,
not enough to wrest me
away from my paper and computer.
A quick bathroom break,
and a glass of water—
these started my wheels spinning, weaving
gearing up to full on working.
Then I made the mistake of stretching,
just a little before going to bed,
when a revising idea came careening into head.
It sent me back to my computer, screen
glowing extremely brightly, mesmerizingly
where I wrote in my new twist,
and whittled away this
and turned that phrase to get it right.
That’s the why of how
I arrived here once again
at my painful bed time of three a.m.
I’m up because I was summoned
from the brink of rest,
and seemingly
no query, insights, or countermands
will change my sleepy accommodating response.
© 2010 Shari Lynne Smothers
Day 12 prompt: Write a poem in answer to any question I choose; details here from 2010 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.
I’m late with this one because my eyes were crossing as I finished it. I decided to wait to post it because I couldn’t be sure of what I was reading. Unfortunately, today I don’t see it much better, as no measurable changes were made. I’ll have my blue pencil sharpened and at the ready, for the official editing phase.
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