Slowly
on a night of moody jazz
consider
what it means for the burnt out ego
to be fast asleep

watching a computer screen
and counting sheep
while midnight drifts toward three a.m.
the same way smoke drifts
from a cigarette

…a momentary prayer and debt!,
this thing called life!
…sweet breath before oblivion
comes with death and Hell.

Shelter from a hurricane
and the rest
of Satan’s spell.