Thursday, July 31, 2008

lunch-break poetry

Haiku

Softer than the floor,
Less lumpy than couch cushions,
Mattresses are great.


In the Style of G. Gavin Gunhold

Pain strikes, like a knife in my back.
Lying on the couch cushions, waiting for sleep,
I longingly think of the mattress I once owned.
Soft as an angel's wings, supportive as a knee brace, beautiful.

On camping trips, a sleeping bag and foam pad sufficed.
Pine cones occasionally intruded, but I slept well.
These lumpy couch cushions might benefit from a pine cone.
They couldn't get much worse.

I used to sleep on the floor, and then on an air mattress.
I fear my years are catching up with me.
No longer can I sleep on the bare floor.
No longer can I make do without a real mattress.
I am too old.


Sonnet

O mattress, queen of household furniture,
'though I am cheap like Scrooge, I must admit
That thou art worth a great expenditure.
I will obtain thee soon, if fate permit.

I tried to sleep on floors; I tried the couch.
I pulled the cushions off and on them slept.
But rest was hard to find -- my back cried, "Yowtch!"
And thinking of past mattresses, I wept.

Without a mattress, life is not the best.
I wish to read but have nowhere to sit.
I wish to nap but can obtain no rest.
Without a mattress, I have lost my wit.

Tonight, I hope a mattress comes to me.
Tonight, if all goes well, I'll be pain-free.


Limerick

Some weeks now I've slept on the floor.
It's been longer than ever before.
With a mattress tonight
I'll be filled with delight.
My back couldn't take any more.

5 comments:

Meg said...

I thoroughly enjoyed your poems and can relate since we camped out last night with no air mattress. I fear I am also getting too old- well, I am older than you by 20 days so there you go. The lumpy ground and the crying baby together made for basically no sleep for meg. So why am I still up? I better go to bed. Ahhh, mattress. Did you get a mattress yet?

Cindy said...

Yep, I got a mattress on Saturday. It makes me very happy.

Adam said...

Remember when you tried to fit a full mattress on a twin frame? That was funny.

Adam said...

And then you slept on it for like a year. That was funny.

Cindy said...

Hey, it worked. Why mess with success?