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.”