By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 17 December 1999

Sleepless in Bridgeport

wouldn't you think
i would stop
winding up
the music boxes
by now
severely burned
and scarred
at 26
stranded on
a deserted island
armed with a mediocre
wardrobe and a keen
sense of humor
but no professor
to devise
an escape
and no Gilligan
to practice my feminine
wiles on
and no Mary Ann
to discuss
exes with?
don't you think
it's rather 
dumb of me
to slip my
heart inside
a Coca-Cola bottle
and cast it
upon the faithless waves
and draw lines
in the sand
counting the days
for a reply?
my eternal optimism
is going to feed me
to the cannibals
I'm going to dress
up for a dinner party
one of these nights
only to discover
that I'm the main course
and it can't be helped, really
my song is lilting
i sing it to the sky
and smile dreamily
at the relentless sun
humming Buddy Holly tunes
making life into
a slumber party
I keep making myself
stay up later
than all
the other girls
I want to be
the best
the most aware
the best friend
the bravest screamer at wild dogs
the wisest owl in the tree
the best teller of ghost stories
and secrets
the town sleeps
the people get older
and I am
burning awake
staying young forever
and no one
no boyfriend
no boss
no parent
no president
can stop me.