I wake
and it's dark;
the breathing of a child fills the room,
I roll over to escape
his teeth grinding through sleep,
and can't.
Lying in the dark
the clock states 12:03am;
fire in my lower back
I stumble to the kitchen
to microwave a cherry pit pack
for relief.
Drifting, drowsy,
he comes home
as I lay on the living room couch
waiting for the beep
and I get to touch him
as I go now to meet him.
Eyes open
and mind awake,
he tucks me back into bed
with a kiss
but has more work to do
before he can hold me.
Mind racing
the child's breathing loud,
but now some warm relief for my back
as I cuddle a pillow
and kick covers off
of my sweating body.
Still awake
it's past 1:00 am now
and I'm restless
and wanting to go back to sleep
knowing tomorrow will be rough
as I work thorugh bleary eyes.
Stomach growling,
hunger unwanted and pervading
what do you eat
in the middle of the night
when you wake
and cannot go back to sleep?
Tired,
so desperately tired,
as I toss and turn in the dark
ignoring the glare of the clock
and the snoring next to me
aching for him to come to me.
Eyes closing
drifting here and there
the bed finally dips,
warm body close as arms wrap around me
and finally,
I'm able to sleep.