Lola Koundakjian: Awakening

Click on the link to hear the audio recording of Awakening, read by the author,

There is a moment before you realize you are awake,

a split second, before the gentle whisper from the heater,

before the need for a glass of water,

or the removal of the sweater the cold night made you wear.

A moment, when your mind is occupied by a picture,

before grey cells remember tomorrow's agenda, or

realize that morning is quite far off

and the coffee is not already made.

A pause before the regurgitation of last night's program,

the excellent book turned into a bad film,

the zests of the salad at dinner time,

the fruity flavors of that red zinfandel.

Before the body overrules the mind to get up, or

turn in bed and return to oblivion,

end the interregnum, ignore it completely,

or take pen to paper and record it gently.

This poem has appeared in the Fall 2013/Spring 2014 issue of Big City Lit