Oh, Sweet Slumber

Go to work, collect no pay,
Spend each moment in disarray,
Papers piled upon the floor,
Unpaid bills, junk-mail galore,
More to complete, a list ten-feet long
Fixed to the fridge; its grip stays strong.
The babe’s cutting teeth; my man’s fighting fires,
An earsplitting pager that never retires
My pillow calls. It says, “Take a rest.
Cease empty efforts to always be best.”
Living to learn, I read about Spain,
Art, writing, literature—I study in vain.
Exhaustion strikes! Senses fizzle and fade.
My brain fights to focus; contradictions pervade
Between wrong and right, between want and need,
Searching for meaning in thought and in deed;
A mammoth abyss between pleasure and pain,
Plummeting down—the journey, insane.
I pray for some answers, I yearn to know why.
Why do I care? Why do I cry?
Oh, why don’t I just shut up and get some shuteye?