Restlessly

Silence – O the silence of a sleepless night.
The silence echoes that something’s not right.
A late night driver swishes by.
I should not hear it for here I lie.
I should be sleeping,
joining the silence of the night.

A burst of noise strikes my ear.
My daughter cries, wanting me near.
Her sobs shake me, the walls are thin.
I struggle from sheets to silence the din.
My feet fall into slipper,
I pad down the hall to silence her fears.

Her door creaks on its hinges, screaming for oil,
She whimpers and sniffles and tells me her toil.
She saw his face in her dreams on her bed.
Her daddy’s face swirls ‘round in her head.
My breathing quickens, is heavy and thick.
How can I tell her that Daddy’s not loyal?

I comfort her with strokes on her arm.
I coo and kiss and bind her with charm.
She turns in her quilts and drops of in slumber.
I can’t help but think, It used to be thunder
crashing, shaking, lighting her walls
but now her absent father strikes her alarm.

Her nasal passages whistle a tune,
I rise from the bed and exit the room.
Soft slipper on carpet rejoin the night,
the ticking clock says “It’s all alright”.
The click of the lamp plunges me to darkness.
I’m not asleep yet but maybe soon.