sometimes the point on the pencil breaks off
in the middle of the exam and the clock's light ticking
begins to boom this is a summer nightmare you tell yourself
we're not in school now and I wake up in my room
certain I must have mislaid some papers and oh no,
where are they?
and realize I'm still dreaming and when will this end
or I think what if the lead point breaks at the same time
triggering the final war that takes us all out of here
and everywhere there are sirens even as the coffee just
begins to percolate, or you're at the bakery choosing plum
danish over apricot
and the sun like an enlarged heart
just stops beating
then thank God I wake up and the squirrels have plopped
down on the balcony railing bright and fluffing their bushy
tails as if kindly pushed by St. Francis
into miraculous sunlight and I learn a new fact about
squirrels.
they are very good at interrupting nightmares.
and making me laugh.
mary angela douglas 28 february 2023
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