0400 HOURS

 

0400 HOURS

Get up to find a cough drop

for Karen, her cup is empty.

Walk into kitchen hoping

to find some in the bread drawer.

A new bag, wrapped in paper

with honey inside. Tear open

the bag and grab a handful

for Karen’s empty cup

on the headboard above her.

These have honey inside.

Unwrapping one,

I place it in her mouth.

Too early to get up,

too late to go back to sleep.

I go into the bathroom and pee.

Borges’ poems rest on my notebook.

Opening to Alqemista

I fall asleep with the help

of the poem’s magic.

The last stanza waits for me

when I wake. God

will handle this one,

el oro aquél que matará la muerte.

God knows what to do with this guy

turning him into dust, for starters.

Even wind proves to be unnecessary

for his disappearance.

What takes place

in these morning meditations

takes place now,

I wake later

with the notebook opening

a garden space, and maybe

it will be Karen’s breathing wakes me.

Jim Bodeen

7-11 October 2023