5:31, Report Loss of Power

Steaming, store-bought ravioli is great and all, but what I really crave is a vanilla
protein shake from the fridge, which I can’t open because the cold air will escape,
cold air that has risen exponentially in value since the kitchen lights slipped
into a narcoleptic episode and the speaker’s music developed a wicked
case of strep throat. 

6:22, 98 Households Affected

I pick through crusty candy
at the bottom of my hoard, a package of sour Halloween Trollis,
a plastic light bulb filled with M&Ms, a broken piece of a stale Rice Krispy treat
because I’m suddenly craving everything I can’t have: luscious lemon yogurt,
soft honey wheat, smoky gouda. 

7:17, No Visible Progress

Silence won’t respond to my noise complaints,
and I can’t concentrate enough to read.  I resort to playing pictionary and hangman
on mismatched notecards with my sister.  Our own foolishness
is the funniest thing we can think of, and we howl like sleep-deprived
lunatics.

7:59, Expect Electricity Soon

There’s little else to do besides stare out my basement window
at the flowers wobbling like bar-hoppers stumbling home
after a long night.  I tumble to the floor, cackling as my mother somersaults
across kitty-littered carpet.  The room is cool, but we have succumbed to mania.

I’m still salivating for that protein shake, but we’re still laughing.

It could be worse.