Beneath crippled rainbows

without warning.

Without warning
I was accosted, assaulted, nearly assassinated
by Today.
It started with an alarm clock
that sucker punched me -
a gutful of A.M.

My squinted eyes peeked
and the sunrise flipped me off.
I tried to turn my cheek,
but was blindsided
by breakfast.

Storm clouds heavy with depressive pain
sneezed manically on my worn sneakers.
Step.
         after.
                   step.

I pounded the pavement back down
so it would stop biting my ankles.
My sluggish heart, a two-ton weight
skipped in my impatient chest.

Line.
         by.
                   line.

Looking to the sky for something,
any sign of purity or reason,
I was disappointed
beneath crippled rainbows.

I tripped my way through the minutes,
the hours . . .
count.ing.ev.ery.sec.ond.

Because soon,
maybe before I knew it,
just maybe -
the sun would set.

And we could do it all over again -
Tomorrow.