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I hear a sound trumpet loud,

And I open just one eye.

It’s the alarm yelling at me,

To this I must reply.

The younger kid is waking up,

And I hear her begin to cry.

Her diaper is full, her belly is not,

To this I must reply.

The older child springs out of bed,

Her curls are all awry.

I go in search of detangler,

To this I must reply.

The dog begins to whimper,

A full bladder she can’t deny.

I rush to open the back door,

To this I must reply.

My husband heads out the door,

And turns to say good-bye.

He puckers up his lips,

To this I must reply.

I hear my phone whistle out,

A friend texting to verify

Our lunch plans later on today,

To this I must reply.

At the office there is a meeting,

And we need to unify.

They are asking for my input,

To this I must reply.

In the classroom I stand in front,

With a directive to edify.

A student has a question,

To this I must reply.

My phone lights up again,

My calendar wants to certify

That I’m headed to the next appointment,

To this I must reply.

Then Facebook begs to be opened,

There’s so much they want to notify.

The red badge glows angrily,

To this I must reply.

Then I click on Instagram,

For filters on which I rely.

Someone left a comment,

To this I must reply.

I was mentioned in another app,

With the blue bird that cannot fly.

And I need to be clever in so few words,

To this I must reply.

I open up my inbox,

Messages in strong supply.

I see a few from my boss,

To this I must reply.

There’s a knock on my office door,

A stressed-out student has stopped by.

The assignment is late, she’s concerned,

To this I must reply.

A breaking story fills my ears,

One that can only horrify.

I feel the need to speak or act,

To this I must reply.

I’m running late to pick up kids,

But my gas tank has run dry.

I pull off at a station,

To this I must reply.

The children scream and shout

For food to satisfy

The hunger in their bellies,

To this I must reply.

I hear a buzzer from a machine

To alert me clothes are dry.

I grab a basket in preparation,

To this I must reply.

We turn on the TV to relax,

Netflix shows seem to multiply.

There’s so much left to get through,

To this I must reply.

I see the covers turned down,

And in the bed I want to lie.

Even though I owe more responses,

To this I must reply.