Night Waters
I am getting older.
My prostate has swollen
in sympathy with my belly,
So now I drink less water
before bed,a peace offering
For the body.
Still, sometime after midnight
comes that little dart
low in the stomach.
Up.
Bare feet on cold floor,
quick little steps
to the bathroom,
and there,in the dark,
I sit down to pee
like a lady.
Women are clever.
Why have men spent centuries
standing up for this?
Then back to bed,
careful not to wake herself,
which means, naturally,
pressing both freezing feet
against my wife's warm back.
She yelps.
Her elbow finds me.
So worth it.
I turn over,
pull the duvet up,
And fall asleep again,
Then, an hour later,
the body taps its watch
and up we go