How I’m Feeling Today

If I’m honest, I’m not
what my smile suggests.
I’m more or less less,
a tired middle-aged man
who looks forward to sleep
with a giddiness best
reserved for other things.
This smile is bent
because my back is
but I know though not
for much longer. It will
spread out, rest on my bed, book
opened for a brief bouquet
of minutes before my head
bobs and I wake up to find
I’ve lost my page,
wishing for more time
to read and be giddy
about other things.

Stephen Briseño's writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Memoir Mixtapes, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, L'Éphémère Review, formercactus, Barren Magazine, and Rabid Oak. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and daughter, teaches middle school English, and drinks far too much coffee. Follow him on Twitter: @stephen_briseno.