Sleepless in…..

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As we continue our series on sleep, we turn our attention to sleep deprivation, its social and medical consequences, its human and cultural aspects, and its use as a method of torture.  Who sleeps? What is sleep?  Finally, a woman who works the night shift in a call center will share with us how her life and health changed with this job.

Why I Don’t Wake Up Early
(in response to Mary Oliver’s, Why I Wake Up Early)

i am an eight hour woman
do not even try to set any alarms
before i have completed the sleep
that restores my charms.
frequent insomnia insists
you do not ask me
to do anything
i can’t skip,
or be late for,
before noon.
besides all that,
it is so cozy under my comforter,
the air so nippy outside my bed,
there is the cold kitchen floor
to be considered before crossing
to get to the drafty bathroom
and a frosty toilet seat.
so often there is a dream
in mid-suspense
i would rather return to,
finish, and remember.
i relish the feeling
that every morning
is a weekend morning
i love reliving
that youthful carefreedom
of the lack of responsibilities
and duties
adults heap upon themselves.
besides all that,
i can listen to the chirping birds just fine
from my bed,
my head on the pillow,
while i drift back
into the luscious luxury
of sleeping just a little longer.

-jaysi, 2004