Alarm pull

for help

is on wrong side

of the bathroom

for someone naturally left handed

or someone who cannot open his eyes

in the morning,

reaching out half drowned

in the land of nod, the sound

of impending storm troopers,

Nazi guards in blue Travel-

lodge shirts and raised eyebrows

break down the door

with a gentle shove

and raise their eye brows

in disbelief

when they interrogate you

till you throw yourself upon their mercy…

I didn’t mean to pull the alarm,

but it is where

the light should be.

Ian D. Hall 2016