Alarms

Today I woke up with the sun.
this is rare

My shirt had come off during the night
and I’d lost my ambition between the dark blue
couch cushions

Everything was still
like watching someone trip on cement
forever
never crashing

Forgetting my dreams,
I saw the windows smile at me
smudged with fingerprints
and chocolate cake

Maybe today is the apocalypse.
One of the cartoon countries,
known only by clichés and caricatures
will finally bomb us back
trees uprooted and soaring
animals quivering in alleys
dark clouds holding ammunition

Maybe the pestilence will creep beneath
our face masks
and put its fingers down our throats
so much we aren’t immune to
so many strains of impurity
vaccinations are for doctors
but the bumblebees will die out.

Perhaps the vacuum of space
will flip itself inside out
like a morning sock
or an evening sweater
torn up by a molten rock
caught up in debris
walking pedestrian in the middle of a highway

If just half the population dies
there will still be more people than I could ever
learn the names of .

I waited

No explosions in the distance
no striped or spotted creatures in the backyard
just me, half naked on the couch in the honors house
study lounge, hiding out from allergic reaction

I let myself sleep for five more minutes.

All around the world people were hitting snooze
like a game show quiz buzzer
Our answer!
delay