i dislike how early you wake me
frightening me, preventing further sleep
i toss, i turn, i wait for relief
but have none

you hollow me out from the inside,
a ladle scooping out my strength,
but i will overcome, i will
because you don’t control me

despite your persistence,
you have met your match in me
and though you think you’ve hollowed
everything, I am still strong

(the strength, it comes from another part of me,
the one you cannot touch, the one
with a persistence that beats you down,
carries me into the wind, makes me full)