Patiently waiting in silence
the small white disc
hides in plain sight
sensing from the ceiling
for something that I trust
it hopes it will never find
 
Like a cactus I never know
if it remains dead or alive
hanging dutifully there
suspended in animation
content I suspect to be ignored
my silent sentinel
 
Silent at least until
this morning at four a.m.
when it began to beep
occasionally but insistently
like a puppy wanting
to be let out
 
Its calls were spaced
just far enough apart
that I could almost
fall back to sleep
before it cried again
demanding my attention
 
One should never climb a ladder
in the dim hours of the dawn
but this shrill and persistent cry
was enough to wake the dead
which — if you think about it —
does seem a bit of overkill
 
The fragile balance of the universe
is such that batteries announce
their imminent demise
only during a night's watch
when it is wintery and
one's house shoes are missing
 
All this says something profound
about the moral indifference
of reality if not its impish devilment
but for now it is still night and cold
and perhaps I could just get
one more minute of sleep

© by Randy Cadenhead.
Used with the author's permission.