Why Wake up Happy
when i can creep into our 3 am bed
slink into the sliver of mattress
you saved for me watch the streetlight
slice through the curtain leaving a streak
of fluorescence in your hair stare
at the ceiling and wait maybe
you’ll steal back the covers maybe
you’ll offer me your leg maybe
you’ll beg for quiet then in a whisper
so not to stir the monster masquerading
as jeans on a chair you’ll ask get any
writing done? no, read two articles though.
they say love is no different than large amounts of chocolate.
also, the cocoa bean will soon be no more.
Copyright © 2024 by Quincy Scott Jones. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on October 24, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
“My wife writes in the morning; I write at night. I prefer the peace and quiet of low light. But right now as I write this, I watch news of the world going to war. Peaceful weather is no more as seasons change with storms and ice caps melt. Black and brown children are still shot in the street by cops, while everyone else’s child is shot in school. Only a fool would stay up and write when he could be holding his wife. Might as well have these nightmares in bed.”
—Quincy Scott Jones
Quincy Scott Jones
Quincy Scott Jones is a Black American poet and the author of How to Kill Yourself Instead of Your Children (C&R Press, 2021).