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This appears in a pre-2010 issue of Down in the Dirt magazine. Saddle-stitched issues are no longer printed, but you can requesting it “re-released” through amazon sale as a 6" x 9" ISBN# book! Email us for re-release to order.

When Sleep is Your Enemy

Richie Cook

Mechanical beeping...
I wonder what it is and wish it would stop
My eyes flutter open and the light coming in
Confirms my worst fears

I lost again

I lower my feet to the ground
And let them guide me to the shower
The warm water is my war nurse
And that four by four fiberglass room is
My infirmary
She healed me
And one day I’ll tell her that I love her
That I can’t live without her

But not today

I find myself in a different room
Opening the cabinet and taking out that
Familiar bag, the one with the elephant and
The word KENYA written in block letters

Pour, grind, pour, splash, drip

My veteran status makes the dubious process
Seem much less deliberate and tender
Than it really is
Soon the smell wafts through the house
The one that makes my heart beat a little faster
My ally has joined me again!
I pour him in my favorite mug
And whisper the details of the battle in his ear

He assures me the next confrontation will go better

I really do appreciate his optimism
It makes the days go easier
That time of peaceful ceasefire
Where the enemy leaves us alone

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