Didn't Get Out of Bed, Poetry

Didn't Get Out of Bed
By Shane Stewart
Copyright (c) 2004 by Shane Stewart


I didn't get out of bed this morning.
So I missed the bus.
And since I missed the bus,
I didn't see you sitting there,
Hair dark and straight,
Straining against the gel and mouse
Threatening the fly every which way.
I didn't see the soft light in your eyes,
Or the way it dimmed when the cell rang,
And brightened when you realized it wasn't yours
I missed that, you see.
Because I didn't get out of bed this morning.

If I had of gotten out of bed,
If I had decided to rise and shine,
Instead of snooze and dull,
I would have seen the hope and fear,
Floating on those moss green eyes.
I would have noticed how you flinched
When the world outside the bus
Dared to intrude on the world inside.
I would have noticed a certain strange
Kinship, a kind of alikeness betwixt
Thee and me, and I would have wondered
What demons chase you so hard as to
Inspire so much fear and so little hope.

If I had not missed the bus,
I could have switched my seat, moved
To sit just behind you, and lean in close,
And whisper to you about fear and doubt and
Hope and certainty. I could have muttered
Litanies of courage and of resolve
And I could have rekindled a faint spark
That you are so sure will never light again.
I could have shown you that we are all,
Every one of us, chased by demons,
But that not one of us has to face them
Alone. I could have been a comfort, a help,
Maybe even, in some small way, a hero.

But I did miss the bus. Because this morning,
I did not get out of bed. I slept in. I stayed
Safe at home. So I did not see your hair, did not see
Your eyes dim or your flesh twitch.
I did not see your fear. I did not see that you are chased.
I did not see the demons closing in.
I did not say a word to you.
And I did not take a chance on being
Any sort of help to you, or any kind of hero.
All I was today was lazy. But today you didn't need lazy.
Today you needed heroic. And today?

Today someone who wanted to be your hero
Couldn't bring himself to get out of bed.