She Says She Doesn't Need to Sleep Now

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She says she doesn't need to sleep now,
though there are shadows under her eyes
and her aura looks tattered, as if she carried
the weight of the entire family on her shoulders,

she is just going to sit down for a while
in the chair by the fountain
in our backyard with the birds in it,
the house is a wreck,
her job is a disaster,

there is too much to do anyway,
she will just sit in the chair
and rest for awhile,
though her eyes droop
as she listens to the gurgling
of the fountain instead of the jackhammers,

she doesn't need to sleep now,
there is too much to do anyway,
shopping , cleaning, typing, gardening,
just rest for a while in the chair,

by the fountain and the birds in the leaves,
such a refuge the trees,
so peaceful the song of the bees
amid the flowers,
but that is what all people
who deeply need to sleep say.