I wake up at 4:30am.
I go to the bathroom.
I get a drink.
I go back to bed.
I can’t sleep.
The birds start chirping at 4:45am.
It is still dark outside.
I lie on my back.
I breathe slowly.
I count in and out.
The hall clock chimes.
It is 5am.
I have one hour before the alarm goes off.
I must get back to sleep.
I turn to my side.
I hug my pillow.
I can’t not hear the birds.
The clock chimes 5:15am.
I turn to the other side.
The birds get louder.
I cover my head with my pillow.
The clock chimes 5:30am.
I return to my back and begin counting again.
The birds count with me.
It is hopeless.
I lie still and listen to the birdsong.
At 5:45am, I think of my neighbor who,
when we cut the overgrown bushes
at the back of the yard, said,
“But where will the birds live?”
***
For today’s poem I used a combination of Adele Kenny‘s prompt “birds,” and NaPoWriMo‘s prompt “Write a poem in which each line except the last takes the form of a single, declarative sentence. Then, the final line should take the form of a question.”