I Need My REM

I can hardly
Keep my eyes open
I can barely
Stay awake
I am so bored
At my job
Sunday they changed
All the clocks again
Spring one hour forward
Lose one hour of sleep
One hour of REM sleep
The kind of deep sleep
That knits up
The raveled sleeve of care
If you miss out
On REM sleep
You feel like a dog
You feel like your ass
Is dragging
All day long
All you want to do
Is to find a place
To sleep
To curl up for
Just fifteen minutes
Or else drink another
Cup of black coffee
Or try to take a hit of
Red Bull
Or a chocolate candy bar
They think that we are
Machines
They think they can
Manipulate us
Any way they want
But we are not machines
I am not a machine
And I will roll over
And take another hour of sleep
If I want to
Screw the timesheet
Screw the alarm clock
Punch in
Punch out
Punch drunk
Kiss my ass

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011