Waking Up

Lying next to you,
peaceful and still,
Light peeking at us from behind the curtains.

Not yet committed to the day,
Still claiming the night,
I hear nothing.
And I love the sound.

I smile because I am content.
And then your eyes open.
The first thing you say is, “What time is it?!”

You aren’t content to lie here in solitude like me.
You are immediately committed to the day, bound by it, in fact.

You? You never hear nothing.
If you did, you would not recognize it,
And you would be suspicious of it.
No, you never hear nothing,
For the sound of the clock is always in your ears.

Unknowingly, You have just ripped off my covers of night,
Leaving me bare to face the day.

So forgive me if I am offended by you.
And forgive me if I don’t answer.

Mechelle Ritchie Foster