The Morning Before Christmas

I woke in time to see the pink leave the sky,
When Nature was using the wide brushes.
The tea in my to-go cup was too hot to drink
and by the time it was cooled I had already forgotten it-
Distracted by my least-favorite Christmas song,
finally redeemed by rimshots on offbeats and
Vince Guaraldi bending unruly chords to his will.
God only knows why I offered to cover
for my busy colleague;
I didn’t realize at the time that
“This Saturday” was actually Christmas Eve.
Such is the life of a retail employee,
“Seasonal”, mind you.
And would I have given so much of my
cherished time usually set aside for sleep
Had I known they would fire me at the
end of the season?
No.
But I wonder,
How long will my employee discount
remain valid?
And when will I see the flesh of the morning
sky again, snowless and blushing
and feel the rush of isolation on the highway
and the fearlessness of speeding to work
when I’m not even late?