To Insomnia Gail Hennessy #7

To Insomnia

 

lights in the kitchen wink me downstairs
six red from the dutiful dishwasher
proclaim it’s ready to be divested of crockery

 

three red on the landline, one on the handset
a zero announces there are no messages pending
no one is likely to call at this sleep custom hour

 

the stove races to catch-up with time
ready to begin a countdown to cooking
blinking 1:22 since the last power outage

 

the TV’s one light is poised for the turn-on
switched silent for now, on the arm of the sofa
the remote control waits for an encounter

 

behind a wooden door the cuckoo is silent
he once flew the Black Forest
its pendulum chimes redolent as pine cones

 

in the lounge room your grandfather’s retirement
present is permanently stuck on 5 past 3, memorial
to his passing and the absent skills of a clockmaker

 

only the digital microwave clock offers certainty
it burns steady at 2 zero zero for this one moment
seconds distant from clicking into the sleepless hours

 

I make a cuppa in my red robin mug …

 

Gail Hennessy  2016.