Denuded of your Dignity

In the middle of the night, when the blankets twist up on one side or another,

And the dreams of distant holidays fall to the floor, while our arms ache

With so much exercise, a little voice keeps calling us: Make

A wish, my friend, forget the inconveniences that smother

Optimism and opportunity. But then, as you would expect,

Your partner pulls the covers over, without respect,

And you are left denuded of your dignity.  Thus the other

In all things gains dominance, and you must shiver.

By the morning’s tepid advent, when your dreams dissolve

Into repeated calumnies, like a frozen river

Exploding into chunks of ice, to solve

The mystery of hesitation, jump like Eliza,

Hold on to the last shard of hope, a hopeless miser,

And wonder if the last line of poetry is a ….