Wake-Up Call
(for Sara, age 4)
My back fights
the middle of the sofa where
my spine fills the space
between the cushions.
My brain fights
the window with its proclamation
of a golden day. Golden days
can wait: I pull the blanket higher,
till eyes and nose fight
linens lined with cat hair.
But I can’t fight you,
posed at my head and waiting,
attacking at the first move I will make,
rushing at me full force with your arms:
I surrender sleep to your welcome home.
© Mary O’Donnell
Mary O’Donnell is a resident of Frederick, Maryland who has had poems published or due to be published in a number of places, including The Greensboro Review, The Road Not Taken, and the anthology, The Montpelier Plus Four.
The Loch Raven Review 