Woke
the bed was cold
perhaps I had died in the night?
but no
it was winter, and
the boiler
was an old whore

moved my feet, eventually, out from
the duvet

blue, they went

but I was used to the cold
had a job in a food plant
growing boxes of meat
in the big freezer

the alarm was silent
the case cracked
where it had hit the wall
after waking me

sun started to creep past the
old cotton sheet that
pretended to be a curtain
but gave up
went west
and left the room grey

I shivered

a mug of coffee was on the dresser
behind it the whisky

i emptied the coffee into the bin,
and filled the mug with something
better for me
warming my heart burn
with preparation for the day

outside, children played with the
ashes of burned out cars

I heared the siren of a passing
police wagon
but the emergency wasn’t local
and it left

another top up and I was ready for
the day
prepared in mind
the body could catch up
later
or just get second place