Eyes Closed: Numbers Game

Sitting here nodding off, can hardly keep my eyes open. I hear the TV on and off. I want to pass out, but I know I have a story to tell. I first opened my eyes 16 hours ago. When I got up the world was laying down to sleep. As I left, I said goodnight as I started my day. The morning was dark and cool. I follow the sun although I would not see it for another 10 hours. The lights from the cars reflecting off my windshield. Music vibrating my windows as I nod my head to stay alive, because if I fall asleep I'm as good as dead. I'm sleepier now than I was at 1:30 in the morning when I hit the road. 

Before most people rolled over I was halfway through my day. Marching to the beat of the drum, one two three four. It's a numbers game. Zombies ambling through the building trying to make the best of a bad situation. Snakes, drills and giant tires. The buzzing of the motors with no avail. Weary workers on the verge of giving up. Blueprint unrolled on a dusty table. No way out. Against the clock we work as seven o'clock rears it's ugly head. 

It would be 9 before we see the light of day. Trying to catch up. The sleepy time crew meets in the office of broken spirits. Yawns, moans and stretches. I was late to the party, because some my cohorts were working on their twelfth hour. Their mental tanks empty. Eyes half open. Looking for a solution. Numbers playing tricks on our eyes. Nervous giggles, dirty jokes and the longing for a back seat nap. The ring leader runs around hollering. A mop in one hand, his head in another. Let's go people!! Let go get some damn breakfast. No appetite other than for a big comfy bed and an eternal night.

As their spirits get bruised and battered. The bean bags come out. Hold on, did you really just lay on the floor? What else is there to do? The clock ticks on. We should be headed home instead we wait for the numbers to tell us we're done. With sun comes the mother figure. Everyone dreading the final consult. Nothing seems right. After a long night we still feel like nothing is accomplished. Go lay down and we'll call you when we are ready. I'm done, my number has been called. Even though I lost, I feel that I won, because I get my walking papers and meet the day with a weary head. 

Instead of going to bed, I long to workout. The rain comes as I set foot in the parking lot. I run run and run. The minutes unforgiving. They seem to take their time to come. I'm not tired, but I'm stuck in perpetual wandering. Have I really been up this long? I grunt as I try to push my legs to take the weight. The numbers still towering over me. I need to lift more to feel like I'm doing something. I'm sweating, legs twitching. I'm not done. Let me move again because I should not sit still.

So back to my seat on the couch. I keep trying to stay awake. So I give in to my desires and try to sleep. I can't give in. I doze off but never sleep. My body is strong but my mind is losing the battle. Then I realize something. Why do I need to sleep if I've been living a strange dream on cusp of nightmaredom all night and most of the morning. I lose all my sleepiness and concentrate on staying awake long enough to enjoy my night the best way I know, with my eyes closed.