I hate when the alarm

Makes me untangle my arms

From around you in the morning.

I know I’ll never get them to fall around your body again

In quite the same way

As half a minute before I had to reach over

And hit snooze.

I hurry back

Because interruptions

Are more than momentary.

They set change in motion.

When we open our eyes

And admit the morning

Dreams recede into their corners,

Shadows and reflections of them

Flickering in and out of a focus beyond our control

During waking life.

They know their place

Even if yours

Insists on eluding you.

This time we share,

We did not summon

But we planted seeds

And opened windows.

The light is here.

The earth is watered.

My arms around you.

I hate the alarm.

But alarms have their place.

And we have ours.

-ZGD