Furlough

Over a mound of lego I wind,
Through a maze of puzzles
And books I burrow blind,
Steered by my little pilots
Who crawl and romp and enjoy
The acres of my life.

And I am bound by joy
To the dictates of the pirate
With stomping foot and winning smile.
Letting their minds run riot,
They do with me what they will.

Now a bridge, now a mountain,
Now a kangaroo or monkey.
I am stretched to the very limits
Of their boundless curiosity
Till bedtime.
Till bedtime calls
And carries them off
And lays me to rest
In dark, undreaming bed

Where, neither bridge nor mountain,
Under the blanket of exhaustion
I slip and sleep -
A blank sleep, dissolved in nothing
Till dawn.
Till dawn comes
And bids me be myself
For one, one precious hour,
And slake my thirst
In the quiet, quiet air
Of furlough.