each morning

each morning around dawn one of our phones makes one of those noises or my watch vibrates or the baby rhino-sized radiator cracks its back and makes the house shake. each time, I try to fall back into sleep, desperate to live in a dream(or  nothing) for an hour more, knowing the pandemic will wait,  won’t allow me to miss anything.

after a few minutes I yield to middle-age, throw off the covers in an explosion of crackle and sparks from the charged(+/-)particles settled and taken refuge about us overnight. and I fall back into the world(important: both feet  must land together) I want to be anywhere this morning but in my mind. I walk past the children’s rooms, close-click their doors and step carefully onto the old stairs to preserve the quiet,

the dog quietly approaches and understands I will ignore her until water boils and beans are obliterated.

This is so cute to me❤️