By Adam M. Van Ho    amvanho@aol.com
Date: 13 February 1999

3:43 AM

lying here,
naked in the sweat soaked bed,
covered by a single green sheet.
city sirens pushing august's breeze 
through the balcony window,
smells of molding trash 
mixing with the wails.

exhausted, i lay there, waiting half asleep.

walking through the apartment, 
my workshirt barely covering the top
of cotton white panties, she pulls a 
half stale glass of milk from the fridge.
lifting it to her lips, the cold light
of the open door flicks off the skin
of her knees as she scratchs her thigh
with a peeling red toenail.

turning around, the unbuttoned shirt
giving a slight glimpse of her chest, she
carefully places the still unfinished milk into 
the night darkened sink.  

tiptoeing across the wood, she tries not to 
awaken me as she slips the shirt off her shoulders
letting it slide to the floor as she glides back u
under the sheet. my arms wrapping around her, my fingers
resting in the nook of her neck as we
quietly drift back to sleep.