Insomnia

 

Insomnia

Lying awake
at two in the morning,

wondering
how a dog would suffer

sleeplessness –
silently, or with little

growls and snuffles,
scratching at its

padded bed
in exasperation,

circling, turning
back, again.

I roll to the left,
then to the right,

and flat on my back,
groaning at the pain

in my hip and the anger
of the day’s impending

bull on my shoulders,
and the looming

banshee cry
of that damned alarm.

Nightmare Charm

CORRIDOR 13

Nightmare Charm

To awaken     undisturbed

or at all

I unclench my fist
freeing darkness.

How to transcribe the dead’s tune?

They float

within     they      float

within,
fear’s cascading grip      transcending sleep

nightmare

“Nightmare Charm” first appeared here in May 2016.

And to Sleep

 

And to Sleep

and what we
sense if not
of our selves

or within this
space we contain
may be of

no thing touched
by one’s fluttering
eye as if

awake we see
even less the
dreams of course

real though we
hold them only
in our sleep

 

Another poem from the 80s. “And to Sleep” first appeared here in February 2015.

And to Sleep

 

And to Sleep

and what we
sense if not
of our selves

or within this
space we contain
may be of

no thing touched
by one’s fluttering
eye as if

awake we see
even less the
dreams of course

real though we
hold them only
in our sleep

 

Another poem from the 80s. “And to Sleep” first appeared here in February 2015.

Countdown, #2: Insomnia

 

My last five posts of 2018 are reruns of five of the most viewed posts on this site during the year. “Insomnia” seemed to strike a common chord among readers.

 

Insomnia

Lying awake
at two in the morning,

wondering
how a dog would suffer

sleeplessness –
silently, or with little

growls and snuffles,
scratching at its

padded bed
in exasperation,

circling, turning
back, again.

I roll to the left,
then to the right,

and flat on my back,
groaning at the pain

in my hip and the anger
of the day’s impending

bull on my shoulders,
and the looming

banshee cry
of that damned alarm.

 

Insomnia

 

Insomnia

Lying awake
at two in the morning,

wondering
how a dog would suffer

sleeplessness –
silently, or with little

growls and snuffles,
scratching at its

padded bed
in exasperation,

circling, turning
back, again.

I roll to the left,
then to the right,

and flat on my back,
groaning at the pain

in my hip and the anger
of the day’s impending

bull on my shoulders,
and the looming

banshee cry
of that damned alarm.

Nightmare Charm

CORRIDOR 13

Nightmare Charm

To awaken     undisturbed

or at all

I unclench my fist
freeing darkness.

How to transcribe the dead’s tune?

They float

within     they      float

within,
fear’s cascading grip      transcending sleep

nightmare

“Nightmare Charm” first appeared here in May 2016.

And to Sleep

And to Sleep

and what we
sense if not
of our selves

or within this
space we contain
may be of

no thing touched
by one’s fluttering
eye as if

awake we see
even less the
dreams of course

real though we
hold them only
in our sleep

Another poem from the 80s. “And to Sleep” first appeared here in February 2015.

Nightmare Charm

CORRIDOR 13

Nightmare Charm

To awaken     undisturbed

or at all

I unclench my fist
freeing darkness.

How to transcribe the dead’s tune?

They float

within     they      float

within,
fear’s cascading grip      transcending sleep

nightmare