testing mattresses

you make

a day of it, going from store to store

in your bedroom

slippers

and pajamas,

testing mattresses across

town.

one by one,

you push upon the king

and queen

with your hand,

never a twin,

then lie down.

you close your eyes and imagine

it's midnight

and the day is done.

is there room for two,

or three perhaps,

be still my heart,

perhaps a dog, or cat

nestled in between the sheets,

but this one is

too soft, the next one

too hard, 

another too je ne sais quoi.

it's harder than it looks.

lying

down all day,

seeing if this what you want

to lie on

for the next foreseeable

years and days.