Exhaustion: Chapter 1

you sit at the desk
sipping your tenth cup of coffee
from a chipped mug.
used cups litter the desktop
black around the rim.
your eyes are heavy, weary
bloodshot and dry
your fingers numb
your back aching.

you've been staring so hard
for so long
that the words on the page
look like jumbled, crowded,
long-limbed letters
black against white
their long arms tangled
with spindly black legs.

you've looked at the clock
so many times
that its image has been burned
into your retina.
tick tick tick
the hands move so slowly
and as you stare
they move
even slower.

you're numb.
so exhausted
that you can feel it deep in your bones.
it's seeped through your skin
and it's flowing through your veins.

the letters swim before your eyes
in the dim light of the broken lamp
and the pillows look so soft
so warm
so comfortable
and you sigh
a sad sigh
and put down your pencil
and push back your chair
and go to make
another pot of coffee.