This poem was another class exercise based on worry and how it becomes a source of connection to other people, a best friend really.
Worry Some
An inherited sleeping partner hogs the night calm
From Grandfather’s ulcer or Aunt Hilda’s Dust Bowl ranch
A wide-eyed visitor resurrected from glaring city lights
Bus fumes, cops on night crawl and live jazz from the corner bar
No place to call my own between the sweaty sheets
My invisible ancestor teems up with
The sleepless girl a few apartments down because her body is maturing
Or the diapered guy chained to his bed in his delirious night in 3B
Or the homeless widow thrown out of government housing perched near the streetlight
Rolling over again my mind clamps down
On the new mother in the apartment below
Washing an irritated bottom as she watches the new moon from the dirty window
On the jobless father pacing in the smoke filled studio kitchenette
Not to disturb his sleeping teenagers and struggling to inhale peace
On the recluse next door where the nighttime
Holds his numerous addictions secret
The light of dawn sides with our common curse
Poking and prodding and pushing me to
Grasp the side of the mattress for one more second
Before I swallow another pill
Before the alarm crows
Before the coffeepot clicks to “Brew”
Before the food truck backs up blaring obnoxious beeps in the alley below
Before I turn over and smell the ugly breath of morning
I give in to the one who loves me the most
I love this one!
Sobering.