Lying in bed at 10:47 AM
with the lights on,
reading a dead man’s letters,
hoping to get an answer for the way
my cold knees hide under blankets,
whispering failures about attempts at warmth,
but it has been worse, but also better-
my body tired as an empty bottle,
while my bloodshot eyes try to find their voice
to wake up my own fatigue,
proving something profound about life
that makes words seem like beer caps
lost under the fridge on another Friday night,
even if the silence from clenched eyes at 4 AM
becomes louder and louder effortlessly,
interrupting my reading, so all I can do
is blink and smile at the way death snores
enough to fool us into thinking it’s asleep
Richard LeDue (he/him) lives in Norway House, Manitoba, Canada. He has been published both online and in print. He is the author of eight books of poetry. His latest book, “Secondhand Salvation,” was released from Alien Buddha Press in February 2023.