The Completed Day

I've had so much fun deconstructing my day in honor of NaPoWriMo! As promised, here is the complete, 24-hour poem. Wondering what May's theme will be? Check back tomorrow :) 

00:00

snuggled in between

Sylvia this rogue

stuffed kitty

cocooned sheets

printed paisley

pink with passion

and a gnawing loss

that has no taste

but smells sad

01:00

roused obdurately

from far off

tawdry dream land

where I am queen

gullible and green

field of possible

stretches lachrymose

a buzzard’s alarm

cacophony of silence

my own fear pounding

02:00

another tenuous

river belly flop

fishing in the folds

of my down blanket

lost sleep

for that ephemeral

someone, laconic

reminding me

in few words

sleep is not just

for rest

03:00

one hour left

to drift sweetly

down the Ohio

pay the barge-man

with two bits, a

plaudit phrase

my smile, his

elusive kiss

obfuscating love

that promise

for a new tomorrow

04:00

digital birds chirp

like temple music

begins this day

blithe crepuscular

stretches sun arms

orange and wide

thank You for another day

05:00

teal tea kettle

shaking on the burner

like feet turn

icy in early spring

these quiet moments

bright with truthful

expectation

06:00

calendar reviewed

mask painted in

hues of the season’s

color, purple plastic

tea cup steaming

long drive from

city to ‘burbs

stretches my spirit

like soulless miles 

Dub Step, Trey or Jerry

any voice to

fill the void

07:00

counting down

to quitting time

only ten hours

yet to go,

malaise creeps

over the knoll

of what will

be future life

08:00

from back office

Viscount of my

serfdom bellows

i line up like

pieces of gum

flavored surprises of

cinnamon and fruit

to punctuate my day

09:00

another hot round

herbal tea in this

plastic cupped

life of suburban

profession

elderberry and

persimmon

piping scents

like I seek the

hour until release

10:00

belly begins a 

beguiling

rumble

derided begging

my dance for 

protein and 

a bit of freedom

tea left only to 

leaves, lunch 

far off

11:00

cursory phone 

checks thumbs

flying 

over

messages

missed, these

window thoughts

wing waiting 

quick photo

not to 

send

but an

airplane

cross check

(i'm ready to fly)

yep, 

still 

alive

12:00

open up those

metal blinds to

let the sunlight in

breeze 

trickling

through window

open 

somehow 

my spirit

remains

caged

13:00

feeding time

vegan lunch pail

pales forlorn

on the counter

abandoned

for a quick rest

head to table

14:00

back from the 

brink, bank of

the Ohio 

winding blindly

between

dreaming a 

future new and

these hours

few but still

left to find

a way

15:00

quitting time 

so close

the rooster

wants me

to call

flipping screens

between digital 

effortless lines

blending this

world poetry

with my

own pages

16:00

mid-afternoon

circular coffee

nourishes lithe body

pining for more

than errant day

planning a sweat seems

impossibly far off in

distance of ended dental

day and writer future

17:00

precipitous my

wardrobe exchanges

printed tights for

Ann Taylor threads

no wonder

mind wanders

salutary dental

hours teach me

taunt me, this

onus life

needs revision

Jerry drove me in

Logic raps me out

18:00

back to the city

where expectations

make sense of

knowing this day

will eventually be

just one more

line on a page

on the weight floor

sweat pours in

heavy droplets

truth come to

fall from brow

and gather between

breast and heart

I lift heavy

avoid the eye

of all wanting

to see inside

19:00

unwinding

door open

to possible

prayer flags

my offering

greens steam

pages and

words float

owned or

borrowed filter

through Mozart

his symphony

Little G Minor

fading light

another evening

another end

20:00

chore list crossed

checked bold

drawing dark

lines over and

through each

these daily 

demands, my own

requirements as I

seek melody

my success

symphony sounding

between wind whispers

and quiet longing

for sleep

21:00

Sylvia sits, her

largess offered in

soft grey fur and

promises for

another round of

sleep to dance this

my dream, at

barre and on pointe

I stretch grateful

arms skyward

this day, an end

22:00

startled awake

the first of 
this night

sleep

tumbling 
out 

broken patterned
petals still
pink but
faded like
fall flowers
when i'm
scared and
reach for
that phantom

You

23:00

heartbeat no 
longer catches

in the

in-between 

throat and

eyes, my 
Shakti fire
quieting this
Shiva need

five hours
remain until
I wake

once again