He’s a terrible one,
Perhaps the worst of all enemies,
As he slaps me on the cheek with reality,
Reminding me that it’s much too soon to embrace this life I’m living,
But it is beyond too late to repent and give in to the penance of slumber.

Though only one face of many,
He, in all of his mockery,
Is the most dreaded when he shows himself,
I groan at my denial of his decent friends—
The times prior to him that I could have put my aching bones to rest.

Chiming thrice through my grievance,
Oh, the piercing of the bells,
Buzzing through every still, silent thing in each room of this house,
His way of laughing at my wide open eyes,
And every limb of my exhausted body.

My lover next to me shifts over to his side,
Untroubled by the merciless pester of this nemesis,
As he wraps his arms around the small of my waste,
Snuggles into the bend of my trembling legs,
I know he is at peace in some far off dream.

And so another night wins,
The wee morning hours have begun creeping their way in,
Making an alliance with the sun to find its way through the drapes,
Just as soon as the last late night thought has been thunk—
3AM, you’ve claimed yet another victory.