Eternal Vigilance

A Fucking Poem

D'you have one of those coffee pots—
Braun, or something else—
with the little light that blinks
when the brew finishes,
then stays steady, keeping the pot hot
on a two-hour timer?

And you watch that light
because when it goes out
the pot goes cold,
and you hate that,
so you keep pushing the brew button,
because you know
if it goes out
you'll have to microwave a cup,
and you fucking hate that.

But you're working on a poem,
and you forget. And then when you
pick up your blue cup—the one with
the Vault-Tec logo—there's nothing there,
and you need one more slug
to help you finish that last line.

But the light is out. The pot is cold.
You curse a blue streak.
You push the brew button,
but the pot is tepid, so you
microwave a cup and wait.

And when you sit back down,
the last line is gone from your
fucking head.

And the poem is done.