The Small Bed
By Karen Elkins

You question how I can sleep
on such a small and narrow bed,
saying you'd fall off.
You've tried it before.
I sleep more soundly;
get more rest;
when on a narrow bed.
I stay still...
instead of meandering
all over the bed,
hands searching
for the man I love,
who's far away.

(Previously published in "Cotyledon" 1999)

Karen has been in print for more than 9 years. Her work has appeared in Poetry Motel, Poetic Voices, Struggle, Blue Collar Review, Black Spring Review, Cotyledon, Aim, Indian Heritage Quarterly, Hard Row to Hoe, The Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris, and many others. To learn more about her work or to order her latest chapbook, contact her at: alicia_karen_elkins@hotmail.com
or by snail mail at P. O. Box 842, Winslow, AZ 86047