Waking clear eyed and bright,
I want to be able to leap out of bed
As sharp as a brilliant light.
Three hours hard work from five to eight,
I'd be well ahead of the game,
I'd have added ten years to the life I have now,
Ten years to polish my fame.
Ten years, I'd have written my masterpiece,
Perhaps written ten in that time,
Not ten years of cleaning the floor and the windows,
Not ten years of pushing round grime.
Ten years in which to follow my dream,
Ten years that are lost and gone,
Ten years of sluggardly lying in bed,
Dreaming my dream away.
For I take ages and ages to wake,
My mind is away in the stars,
My head's full of jangly cotton wool clouds,
My eyes stay crossed for hours.
My arms feel like water, my legs feel like string,
Bright lights make my eyes and head ache,
My low blood sugar makes me feel faint,
I need three hours to wake.
If I switch on the cruel fluorescent light
And force myself into the shower
I can feel wide awake and normal again
Within maybe more than an hour.
But it's a hard, hard task, it's a road of pain
To get a good start to the day.
I prefer to lie here and pen some verse
And fritter my life away.
December 2006