mommy drank
her sleepy juice
the fire
in her eyes
had gone to embers
as she glared
blearily
around the room
a cigarette burned
in the ashtray
as she lit another
i watched
out of the corner
of my eye
as her head dipped
then snapped back up
only to raise slower
when it finally dipped
a last time
soft snoring
filled the room
i rushed over
to grab
the cigarette
and snuffed it out
we didn’t need
another fire
another scorch mark
another beating
because i existed
that would come
tomorrow
but tonight was mine
because
mommy drank her
sleepy juice
and all is alright