I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

20 May 2015

At 2 a.m.

I have been in bed an hour.
I closed my book and turned the light out
thirty minutes ago.

The man next door can't sleep again.
He is playing his AC-DC collection
again, loud.

My cat comes crashing through
his swinging flap in the laundry door,
and yowls.

'Shut up,' I tell him (the cat
not the man next door). 'It's much
too early for breakfast.'

I toss and twitch, get up again
to pee, wonder if I'll ever settle ...
and wake at eight.

On my bed, a lump of dark
stirs, pricks its ears,
purrs.






Written in response to dVerse Instapoetics prompt, and shared with Tuesday Platform for 19 May 2015 at 'imaginary garden with real toads'.
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28 comments:

  1. brudberg20 May 2015 at 17:08

    I think that if you are awake at night the cat is the best of companies. Probably better than the AC/DC collection I think... :-) Maybe you should give your neighbor an Enya record.

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    Replies
    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade20 May 2015 at 17:51

      Ha ha ha, I'm not sure he'd go for that. But it's a great suggestion.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous20 May 2015 at 18:44

    The transition from a sleepless "Highway to Hell" AC/DC moment to morning grace is invisible here and perfect

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  3. Jim20 May 2015 at 19:31

    Hi Rosemary. It's four o'clock four me. Then four-thirty. I get up, have a cuppa decaf, either compose or play Solitare in bed. That one is so boring it puts me to sleep at six or so.
    Next I know it's eight and coffee is served
    ..

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  4. Thotpurge20 May 2015 at 20:17

    Not bad if you managed to go back to sleep I guess!

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  5. X20 May 2015 at 20:25

    I wish that like my cat I could just flop down and go to sleep, you know. They dont understand why we have such a hard time I imagine. Ha.

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  6. Cressida de Nova20 May 2015 at 20:47

    Neighbours like that can make life hell.Play Opera full volume...AC DC fans will move out:)

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  7. Gillena Cox20 May 2015 at 21:55

    :v
    nice one

    much love...

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  8. Susan20 May 2015 at 22:07

    I've had nights like this! That purrr in the morning makes up for everything else.

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  9. Anonymous20 May 2015 at 23:25

    luckily - I am that guy who falls asleep in minutes...

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  10. Glenn Buttkus21 May 2015 at 00:34

    As creatures of flesh & fury, we still need our down time to recharge our cortex, restart our organs. We simply must have sleep in order to remain peak in our function. Your last feline stanza is wonderful, a terrific capper. I wonder what it would be like to train our bodies, as some yogi do, to not need but a few hours sleep?

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  11. colleen21 May 2015 at 02:16

    Nice contrast of pet purr and AC/DC screech. Wonder if you slept.

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  12. De Jackson21 May 2015 at 02:30

    Love this, especially the cat. :)

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  13. Sanaa Rizvi21 May 2015 at 03:28

    Oh this is so adorable :D I love cats!

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  14. humbird21 May 2015 at 03:51

    So simple and yet peaceful, just life... :)x

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  15. Mary21 May 2015 at 04:02

    Well, my dogs hear various things in the middle of the night and wake me up with their barks to inform me! So glad there is no one near who is playing AC-DC loudly!

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  16. Gabriella21 May 2015 at 04:30

    I'd feel like saying 'shut up' to the man next door if I could heard AC/DC at 2 am!

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  17. Katie Mia Frederick21 May 2015 at 05:18

    Ah.. the purr of cats.. in Tai CHI rhythm.. can be
    the best sleep medicine.. of all of night..
    in all of dark.. of light of night..
    of day.. as well..
    in well of life..:)

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  18. Unknown21 May 2015 at 06:16

    ugh... luckily I live next door to people who are like mice - quiet. lol

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  19. Marian21 May 2015 at 08:48

    Ah, nice! I like this poem, if not the situation. The music that's been ruined by neighbors, argh!
    Did you know that Angus Young just turned 60? And still running around in those short pants. :)

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  20. Wolfsrosebud21 May 2015 at 08:57

    those cats seem to sleep through anything

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  21. Outlawyer21 May 2015 at 09:34

    Sweet! K.

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  22. Sumana Roy21 May 2015 at 13:12

    love this close knit picture of a noisy night that ends in a peaceful slumber :)

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  23. Sherry Blue Sky21 May 2015 at 13:52

    I love that you finally got to sleep. So often, I dont.......then waking up becomes the problem, LOL.

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  24. Kathy Reed21 May 2015 at 20:11

    I've had the cat's purring keep me awake...but I don't know what I would do without her.

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  25. Victoria Ceretto-Slotto22 May 2015 at 07:32

    I got tired reading this one, Rosemary. Cats and dogs (in my case) love to sleep all day, and conspire to keep us awake at night!

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  26. Anonymous23 May 2015 at 16:13

    I love that "lump of dark" purring! Sounds like you managed to sleep after all! :-)

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  27. Magaly Guerrero1 June 2015 at 04:02

    Love, love, love the jump from complete annoyance to "awakening".

    *I twisted and turned as I read*

    ReplyDelete

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