Last night
as I lay awake thinking about work,
I finally took a stand:

"Look, work," I said,
"enough is enough.
I will give you my daylight hours;
I will allow you to consume my consciousness
for ten or more hours each day,
but that is all.
You do not get my nights, too.
From sunset to sunrise,
the time is mine,
and that also means,
the time is God's.
This is when I am cradled in God's arms,
especially when, like now, I lie in bed;
there's no work to be completed here–
only release,
only exhalation,
only sinking into the blessed Abyss."

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All
rights reserved.