Andrew Shields: Wake Up

Conditions

Sleep when I wake you up.

Drink when I take away your cup.

Eat when I strip your cupboard bare.

Be merry when I tell you I don't care.

Take when I tell you to give.

Die when I tell you to live.

Give when I want you to take.

Swim when I dry out your lake.

Cry when I dry up all your tears.

Worry when I explain away your fears.

Duck when I make you stand up straight.

Stay in the yard when I open your gate.

Smile when I make you feel the pain.

Close your umbrella when I start to rain.

Talk when I say you must be still.

Get well when I take away your pill.

Laugh when I try to make you weep.

Wake up when I put you to sleep.

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Andrew Shields lives in Basel, Switzerland. His collection of poems "Thomas Hardy Listens to Louis Armstrong" was published by Eyewear in 2015. His band Human Shields released the album "Somebody's Hometown" in 2015 and the EP "Défense de jouer" in 2016.