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Super fine. On 11/7/07, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Snap: Night Watch > > Sleepless nights should be few, > few and far between, tolerable > so long as they¹re rare interesting, > even; hours when the dark is kind, > the household breathes in unison, > recouping itself for the morrow; > in the absence of distraction, > then, a chance to review one¹s life. > > Prolonged recurring sleeplessness, > however, is a menace. > > So tonight it feels acceptable, > predictable, comfortable: > run through some recent gaffes, > plan an apology or two, > rehearse some overdue charm, > draft some sayable sentences, > trust one¹s verbal memory > to call them up when needed. > > Others may curse the day they were born, > or evil politicians; > not I, merely my humbling stumbles: > five decades back, the girl lost > who spurned me and my fumbling; > > five hours ago, in the café, > that spoiled joke saying salinity > when I meant senility! > straight after that sad Julie Christie > movie about Alzheimer¹s... > then the notice on my windscreen: > parking fine: 55 dollars > these things can rankle in the night hours. > > Easy now, slide back to sleep: > relax head and neck, steal back > from Herself (for a change, not > insomniac) the hot water bottle > needed most by one¹s distant feet. > > Tomorrow, will those sentences > come up when called? Repeat them once, > then sleep. Not so neat this time? > Trust till morning. The clocks are chiming. > > Chiming again. Chiming again. > > > Max Richards > Doncaster, Victoria > -- Joseph Green The Pleasant Reviewer Headmaster, St. John Boscoe Laboratory School Switchboard Captain, Hollywood Colonial Hotel All complaints shall be directed to: Camelopard Breathwaite The Fallows, 200 Fifth Avenue, Fredonia City "That's Double Dependability" Brought to you by Zenith Trans-Cosmic Radio