Sound Effects

An overnight shift, a quiet one,
so I was paid not to work,
but to be available - I was on retainer.
the challenge was to multi-task,
to get paid and get my rest at the same time,
to conserve my resources and maximize my profit margin,
the practical challenge was to endure the
strange and witless cackling of other people,
the blunted dialogue seeping fractured through the wall
past the white noise machine inches from my head,
to be able to surrender myself to sleep, to give myself over completely,
and then to endure the sudden coitus interruptus of a slamming door which,
after the next twenty times, twists your reality, makes you believe
there must be a parade going on out there, a drug raid, Carnivale,
a legion of zombies, a demented toddler in the building -
opening and slamming, opening and slamming, opening and slamming.
you would feel so much better about all mankind if someone would, just once,
close the door gently, mindfully, and with consideration for others.
you startle each time, another flail's lash to your Christ-like sensibilities,
yet, after a while, almost with a grin you
understand that sleep is not really yours to have,
she is not yours to enjoy,
you can only take what she gives you - a cuddle, a wink, the sweet suggestion of bliss,
what the hell, it's a paycheck.