UNSLEEPWALKING

The S. O. P. (an apt abbreviation)
Calls for three get-ups per night. The first
Is often close to midnight–it’s the worst:
Leaden legs, miasmic enervation,

A dragging to and from and sinking down
To heavy slumber. Later the second call–
Reluctant summons from the fetal sprawl,
Staggering, gummy-eyed, with frozen frown.

Why do we sink so far unless to rise?
The third alarum finds me almost ready
To rouse, my footsteps almost steady,
And hoping to see some lightening in the skies.

These are the joys I probably would have missed
If I’d been a practicing somnambulist!

(57, October 7, 1992)

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