asleep in her hot bed hot winged angel
sleeps beside the el's racket
during the night & all day;
four or five times in an hour maybe she
can sleep between the sparking scream
of rusty air brakes until the whole train
plows into the station in a fiery explosion;
stripper rolls over thinking the noise
was half-dream half disaster and she goes
sleepily to the window now fully awake;
every unemployed neighbor at their window,
her shift starts at midnight; fire & police
sirens whining & ringing for hours;
colored light swirling through her room
looking like for her work has begun sooner
than thought
& she prances dreamily in her white silk slip
through the dark lit by the shining emergency
lights; she showers & dresses checking
the clock; 5AM ***; she crawls back into
bed; she just worked a double last night
Midnight to Noon covering for preggo Sarah