Rude Awakening

Drifting slowly
Heavy
eyelids
drooping
down,
And then the pleasant song of –
Alarms?
Time to wake myself already?
But no,
The clock reads 12:00 AM.

12:00 AM!

I bolt up, awake.
WARNING! WARNING!
The siren screams.
I jump out of bed,
Grab my cell phone and purse
Shuffle down the stairwell
As thoughts whirl in my head.
My pictures,
Stuffed critters,
My clothes . . .
Oh no!
I forgot my shoes.

I trudge with all the rest
Onto the slick, rain-coated sidewalk.
Shuffling and fiddling,
We wait.
And wait.
And wait.

Whispers murmur through the crowd—
Was it a false alarm, a joke?
Would the place go up in smoke?
And all the while I stare and think—
I should have brought my sweater . . .

After what seems like an eternity,
We are ushered back inside.
I head to my room, crawl in bed,
And then—

Drifting slowly
Heavy
eyelids
drooping
down,
And then the pleasant song of . . .
The drain?


Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.


Great.

Now I’ll never get to sleep.