5.15.2017

On Sleep

Sleep awaits me
But I know not where.
He beckons come hither
But do I dare.

Once... I... 
Fall...
Fall...
Fall
Beneath the sandman's spell, 
The place where I know Sleep awaits.

But Sleep is a fickle friend—frequent foe 
It's why I'm here and how I know
That with eyes wide open 
He'll stop waiting. 
He will find me. 
My avoidance of him grating.

But irksome for me...
To seek him out. 
To find him, Sleep. 
Then to have him mock me. 
Through restless dreams
Clenched, tired jaws 
Grinding teeth
The toss and turn of the sea lives well beneath my sheets.
For there is no comfort,
All rest falls short 
Of what I need. 
So on this one thing I will concede:

Despite his lies,
Despite his bait, 
I'll return to where he waits. 
And again I'll try to find the Sleep I need—
The Sleep I dream of when I'm awake. 
But some day eventually my life, our lives, he'll surely take. 
The appeal of Sleep 
Is far greater than the promise he can keep.