Submission
Cat Terrell

The light shines in from the window. The blinds do not work in this room,

or if they do I haven't twisted them enough to block out the street lights

that tempt my eyes as I lay in the dark. In the daytime,

sleep tempts me with each word I read, with each sip of a hot drink.

I've learned that I'm no good at sharing, but that I live with people

who are good at sharing, so I either have to get a bit better at allowing others to take my stuff

or say fuck off entirely,

 

I want every last drop of milk to myself. But no one can do this alone;

I don't ever buy butter, and my bags of tea

don't last as long as they would if it were

just me. I will doze off just like I always do, after the words

on the screen become little hands that reach out to pull my eyelids down to my chin,

 

and my own hands become warm until they go completely still,

and my thoughts become dreams that my bed is not where I am.