dealing with the Jimmy leg

we couldn't sleep

in the same

bed anymore,

she developed

what we call

the Jimmy leg,

all night long,

her foot and leg shook as if

she was churning

milk into butter

in a wooden barrel.

sometimes the dog

would lie against her

leg, which would

help for a while.

it was

always the left leg,

rarely the right.

you are no longer protected

i hate

the Macfee warnings

on the new

computer, i

despise them

with their flashing ads

in the corner,

making me pause

to click on

the x to banish them.

they are whining babies,

wanting

a bottle,

a change of a diaper,

a lollipop

to stop their constant

crying.

i know you, don't i

i run

into the old English teacher

from back

in high school,

he's a clerk

now

at the grocery store, but

he's still

quoting

Shakespeare.

saying things like to be

or not to

be,

things like that.

who goes there, he

says to me

with his steely blue eyes.

i know you,

don't i?

are you still the devil

incarnate?

just another twenty winks

do we

really need a purpose

in life, a reason to get

up

in the morning,

a place

to go to,

a job, a vocation of some

sort?

a reason to be alive?

do we need to be a volunteer

and give

back

to the community, to

adopt a road

and pick up trash

along the way.

can't we just sleep in

late this morning

and get another

twenty winks?

please.