In this personal monologue, the narrator recounts being woken in the early hours to close the chicken coop, a chore he has performed twice daily for ten years (approximately 7,000 visits). He describes the routine in vivid detail, noting the sheer number of nightly trips and the physical act of shutting the coop door. The story is set during the narrator’s early battle with Lyme disease, a period marked by depression, fatigue, and a sense of defeat. When his partner reminds him to tend to the chickens, he initially resists, expressing a fleeting wish that the birds would die, but ultimately complies, completing the task despite his low mood. The tone blends dark humor, resignation, and frank honesty about his emotional state, ending with a reluctant but fulfilled action.
