When I wake,
demons are ready
to start talking.
Demons of
to-do lists,
unfinished conversations,
body image consultations,
character assassinations.
Apparently, they have had
a good night’s sleep
and
two cups of espresso.
And when I join in,
when I join in,
my heart revs up,
my anxiety rises,
and I’m either
off to the rat races
or
pulling the covers over my head,
pouring another
shot into their cup.
The effort needed to quiet them
now
is tremendous.
Overwhelming.
How do I beat the demons
when I’ve set them up with their
own barista and espresso machine?
After long years of experimentation,
here is what I’ve found:
Morning demons love an unstructured playground.
So immediately upon waking,
I put my feet on the floor.
I stand up
and
head toward the bedroom door.
There is coffee to be made,
gratitudes to be said,
movement and meditation.
And the demons?
The demons get distracted
by this series of focused actions.
Their tongues get tied
as they try to speak their lies.
and they are the ones
who go back to bed.