Thank you to Mark Antony Rossi of Ariel Chart for publishing my poem in the January issue.

https://www.arielchart.com/2022/01/my-crowded-bed.html

My Crowded Bed

 

Every night I fall asleep with them:

the dead, those living yet so very distant,

all old friends, family.

 

They come when my dreams call them,

or they show up uninvited 

on the front porch of my mind,

where they knock or ring until I answer.

 

Some have been there for so long.

These feel so comfortable

just making themselves at home, settling in.

 

I can spread my limbs out

as much as I want,

but the bed is still so crowded.

I’m surprised the mattress has not grown saggy.

 

Yet, for all my complaining,

I hope they keep up the knocking,

and the ringing

because they are the ones I love, 

and they help me endure the dark.