I never was an early riser…

But a midnight insomniac.

Sunrise and I

Have always been

Regrettable strangers.

I miss her

Like a sibling

I never had.

The ghosts of evening cocktails

Gather their vengeful strengths,

Intruding at late hours—

Beating down the door of my brain,

Battering my temples

Like a pair of timpani,

With mallets hard as diamonds.

I wake in the dark to find

Stolen rest,

Dry air,

And the premonition

Of Dawn eluded.

Enough.

The pipes shudder

As a roaring river

Of emptied bottles

Runs through them.

Midnight will soon become

A distant stranger.

Daybreak and I

Will meet at last.