5 a.m.

Alarm peals, saviour from nightmares
The body shuffles awake, groggy, unwilling
Returns to sleep

The doorbell rings, the body wakes up now
The mind has wandered long and far,
Faintly reminiscing the dream just dreamt

I walk to the door and mumble incoherently
To the milkman wide awake – he’s in a hurry
keep a bag at the door next time

I shuffle to the kitchen and light the gas
The milk takes time to boil, I wait grumpily
The bed is warm, the floor is cold

Aah! It’s boiled, I can sleep a little more
Before the rush of the day
But the crooked coffee filter beckons

The right mix of coffee and milk
Just the right heat, slightly sweetened
Bubbles at the rim

Window blackened by the sky
Surrounded by a soundless creep
Of slow sunshine

Somewhere in the distance, not very far
Another alarm peals, a light goes on
Action repeats as a doorbell rings