It wakes him up at 4:12 am,
    but can vary by several hours,
never planned, 
    always surprising.
His alarm clock is pain,
    squeezing his right hand,
a deep, throbbing ache.
    Pain has no snooze button.

It wakes her at 2:27 am,
    but can vary by several hours,
never planned.
    Her alarm clock is grief,
disrupting the sweet escape of sleep.
    She glances to the empty space beside her
where her husband–gone now for two months–
    provided warmth, comfort, companionship.
Grief has no snooze button.

It wakes them up at 3:36 am,
    but can vary by several hours,
never planned.
    Their alarm clock is fear:
Where will the money come from?
    When will the landlord evict them?
How will they shelter their daughter (and the dog)?
    This is their home, but for how long?
Fear has no snooze button.

Every evening, exhaustion collapses them.
    Every morning–
who knows when–
    the shattering jangle of the alarm clock,
the one with no snooze button…

Text and image © 2022 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Visit PhotosByDirk.com for fine-art photography.
Visit The60SecondSabbath.com, where spirit and image merge.

Have you ordered your copy of Contemplative Vision: Photography as a Spiritual Practice? 
Follow this link: https://www.churchpublishing.org/contemplativevision