I am in so much pain

I’ll tell you in the morning why —

Image Source: CDD20 / Pixabay

I am in so much pain.
Why?
I’ll tell you why:

But first
I must make sure the kid is sleeping —
he mustn’t hear a single word
then I’ll make sure the television is off
so you can hear me.
But first
just one more episode —
this one’s a good one
it makes me feel safe

I must sleep early
for there is work to be done
and the dreams are nice
to float inside of
the nightmares are not
I’ll tell you about those too
but first —

I must work all day
until there is no room to think
for I must function
and then I walk home
with earphones blasting my favourite songs
on repeat
the bass massages a deep part of my brain
that nothing else could surely reach —