Waking Up

At first a cat
sleeps, then wakes, sees you,
goes back to sleep.

Then there is
an explosion in your head,
and you do the same.

It is dark and
not yet close to
alarm time, wake up time.

You watch light changing,
growing behind
worn blinds in the bedroom.

A wolf, somewhere,
eats a sheep, licks his
hungry jowls afterward.

The cat sleeps. You
try. The wolf sleeps.
You try. The explosion

you try to cover sleeps.
Did it ever happen or was it
a mistake, you wonder. Maybe

it was nothing. All
in your head and it’s
the same in the imagined

aftermath. The wolf
didn’t exist either. Did
the explosion, the cat?

Aren’t you a fool
for being alive and not
quite awake?

The light inexorably
continues to increase.
A cat jumps up, gets down,

goes on its way
and when you open
your eyes it’s all you have.

Morning
isn’t enough. It
diminishes you.

You are a fool,
but no more than a normal man
first thing in the morning.

Crestfallen. Still
asleep. Wide awake.
Lost in the cat’s cry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
onward,
T