Tick tock, tick tock,
Each second I count,
A strange hush falls all around,
Feet tread lighter,
And my eyes grow heavy
As I await the first ray of dawn.

Those under my care
Rest in the sweet land of dreams
Their steady breaths
Become my lullaby.

Tick tock, tick tock,
An ache in my heel
makes itself known
My chair is my sanctuary
But alas, not for long,
For comfort is a passing guest.

Perhaps it’s 6 AM,
my blurry vision cannot tell.
Tick tock, tick tock,
The clock is still.

Bitter coffee coats my tongue,
Voices make themselves known
And as morning awakens
I surrender to blissful nothingness.

Aarushi Agarwal is a medical intern at Apollo Medical Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Hyderabad. Outside the hospital, she enjoys reading novels, following major tennis tournaments, and spending whatever time she can trying to write. Her favourite novel is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab.