The Boss of Me


Sleep has come banging once more
announcing the night before
wasn’t enough to placate him.

Try as I might to ignore him and write,
he insists on having his way;
yelling in tones mute to the naked ear
knocking around inside my skull
randomly pressing different parts of my brain.
Then standing on my cheek
in audacious Liliputian fashion,
he reaches his hand up
to drag down my eyelids one at a time.

It’s inconvenient timing each night he comes
arriving promptly when the words
have begun to spill, my hands
writing or typing to catch them.
I’m forced to give in,
praying I’ll later recall the words coming.

Still, I relent only after I’m convinced
that if you ask me my name
I wouldn’t remember it to say.

Good night.

©2008 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Nice, To Me

It’s taking my time
spending it ruminating
and recording
random thoughts
that catch me.

Sitting in the near-empty
New Orleans River Walk food court
shortly after the assaults by
Hurricanes Katrina then Rita.

Or in the Magazine Street cafes-
free internet signals
and weak hot chocolate,
stuffed with people
sitting together and alone
mocking city-wide damages
behaving
like pre-disaster days.

Early morning hours
in Boston
at my friends’ kitchen table
before our day begins in earnest.

I’m slow to get going
for reveling in being free.
It excites me so, until
I’m at first struck dumb.
Then through ritual
and determination
reminding me
it’s time to write something;
the dam is broken
words, ideas, stories
come falling out of me.

If you didn’t catch
my intimation
that time
is rarely on my side,
now I’ve said it plain.
It is my constraint;
never wanting to rush,
I rarely have enough time
to just sit and be with things.

©2008 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Catching Up

I thought cameras on cell phones
was really quite a waste
until I traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The youths in the group
soon ran out of film
and my stores I had to limit.
After I shared my max,
they pulled out their cell phones
to continue taking pictures
. . . and I thought better of it.

Then I thought,
Cell phones to talk
is that too much to ask?
What’s the point of music
and texting and internet surfing?

until—
Hurricane Katrina hit and
knocked out all communications
save for one, can you guess?
Voice calls were intermittent at best.
But we could with some reliability
send and receive text messages.

I’ve given up on keeping ahead,
content with being able to
catch up to changes.
I’m stowing my cell phone
innovation skepticism.
Since just recently I sent my first email
from Gmail my web-based service,
I’m fully on board with all the new junk.
I’m getting an 8GB 3G iPhone.

© 2008 by Shari Lynne Smothers