After a long day– a longer pause.

When the alarm goes off at 4:30
yes– in the morning,
and the shift starts at 6:30 half a county away
and goes for who-knows-how-many
more hours until my tired feet hit home…

And then it’s kids-that-aren’t-even-mine
and maybe a meeting and a moment to myself
because dear god I need it
before the crazy settles too deep in my head.

A quick dinner and maybe a hot bath.
Wash my face and slather on the cream
before the fine lines settle too deep in my skin.
I rinse the Manager residue down the drain.

A hopeful chapter before I set the alarm
because the stack of unread books causes physical pain
the taller it gets.

The sun is still throwing shade outside
but my bed is reaching for me
and if I don’t climb inside right now
my rest will shrink from eight–six–four and a half
hours in the Other World.
And I’ll wake up more tired than before.

When, in between all this running,
am I supposed to find time to run?