The Monster Under the Bed

On the night that bin Laden died
 — with a bullet in his head —
A beeping phone awoke me
from a restless night's sleep
 — there were two messages

The night was still young
I thought about celebrating
but I smiled and went back to sleep
"A small, cool
gathering my house now"

A shout of joy
from down below
ended my restless night
 — Jay was awake and had seen the news
A new day was about to unfold

Two hours later
Jay was doing laundry
and I was confirming
my flight back home

An hour after that
and Jay was out for eats
and I was on the beach
with my feet facing
our own private Mecca

The waves
 — oblivious to the news from Pakistan —
continue to crash
against the shores of Mexico

Osama bin Laden
 — the monster under the bed —
no longer has to worry about
restless nights
 — but we do


— Mark Butkus