the sixteen beeps of the
nightly car alarm
that keeps me half awake from 2:30 to 5:30
when i give up and just get up

i’ve counted the beeps
but i haven’t counted the seconds between

because that changes

it could be a few seconds
it could be a few minutes

it’s just varied enough to keep
my nerves heightened

i think, if the beeping continued and continued, i may be able
to sleep through that, or if it was sixteen beeps, then sixteen beeps
worth of silence, maybe i could be lulled into unconsciousness through
the pattern, but this lack of consistency is what keeps me
awake

and in stress