Sunrises

Not exactly a poem, but yeah...

Sometimes I wake up briefly to the sound of God; the sleep-ridden vocals of a man reminding me, in gracefully prolonged syllables, that ‘prayer is better than sleep’, and inviting me to come offer Salah. 

Often I decline, pushing my head deeper into my pillow and wrapping myself even tighter in the comfort this very God has granted me, any motivation deterred by the idea of increased under-eye circles and overall lack of rest. Then I fall back asleep and wake up hours later, eat, get dressed, and rush to whatever it is that to me is better than sleep. 

Some days, though, I find myself lying awake and spellbound - utterly mesmerized -by this mystical voice that calls to me. Darkness is never alone; it is always accompanied by Silence, be it the silence after the storm, the silence brought on by loss, or the silence of breaking dawn. 

Every time the man pauses his song, I feel myself wrapped in a blanket of stillness; every time the man continues, I feel myself wrapped in the blanket of God. 

And so it goes on, until the very last of his words descend all around me like rain, submerging into the quiet once again, and melting into the comfort of my bed.

I consider, again, waking up for God. 

I consider for so long that I fall back asleep.