S l e e p e r

If You're Gazing Upward at 4 a.m.

Dear Sleepers:

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I'm a conoisseur of sleep, not a sleepyhead (even if I do crave more and more of it since the arrival of our little sleeper, who is a good sleeper, quite). But I love this poem by Dorothy Parker. Who is better at endings than Dorothy Parker?

Yours,
Marie of Romania

INSCRIPTION FOR THE CEILING OF A BEDROOM

Daily dawns another day;
I must up, to make my way.
Though I dress and drink and eat,
Move my fingers and my feet,
Learn a little, here and there,
Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,
Hear a song, or watch a stage,
Leave some words upon a page,
Claim a foe, or hail a friend—
Bed awaits me at the end.

Though I go in pride and strength,
I’ll come back to bed at length.
Though I walk in blinded woe,
Back to bed I’m bound to go.
High my heart, or bowed my head,
All my days but lead to bed.
Up, and out, and on; and then
Ever back to bed again,
Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall—
I’m a fool to rise at all!

The Sick Bed

When one sleeper is ill, up coughing and sneezing till all hours, the co-sleeper suffers. Sleeper has found no way around this problem, or rather problems — lack of sleep, in the main, but also irritation, frustration, even anger — except Valium. Those NyQuil television commercials feature a flu sufferer looking desperate, then peacefully medicated, then stretching contentedly in the sunlit morning. Do they ever show the co-sleeper slumped at her desk? Is Sleeper not gifted at ill co-sleep?

Once again, the idea of an extra alcove comes to mind. Someplace to curl up properly, if you're the flu victim or the exhausted Sleeper. The next apartment will have this. Not a sofa, but a real bed. Till then, Valium is our friend.