INSOMNIA


from the ABC set THE HUMAN CONDITION

In the stillness of the night
He cannot sleep though try he might,
Lying wide awake in bed
A thousand thoughts course through his head.

How he wishes he could sleep
In sweet repose, in slumber deep,
How he wishes he could find
Some sure way to quell his mind.

His eyes are closed, he's still awake
If only he had pills to take,
To act upon him like a switch
To turn him off without a hitch.

Behind his eyelids, though shut tight
Stars appear as points of light,
Then give way to neon swirls
A fulgent tapestry unfurls.

For hours now he's turned and tossed
All hope of sleep completely lost,
Frustration works upon his brain
He feels he'll never sleep again.

He hears the birds salute the dawn
No hint of sleep, just one more yawn,
He needs to rest, he yearns to dream
He offers up a silent scream.

The air's alive with new day sound
Blessed rest he's finally found,
The phone erupts in heartless tones
He hugs himself and softly moans.

COPYRIGHT DM PAMMENT 2nd MARCH 2010

Discuss this piece in the abctales forum


Comments

rjnewlyn | March 2, 2010 - 23:18

Yes - very true, very recognisable. Excellent.

Silver Spun Sand | March 2, 2010 - 23:52

Very well put, david. I am sure, many of us can identify with this;-)

Tina xx

kheldar | March 3, 2010 - 07:53

Thanks Tina xx :--)

shoe | March 3, 2010 - 09:50

Love this bit!

"Behind his eyelids, though shut tight
Stars appear as points of light,
Then give way to neon swirls
A fulgent tapestry unfurls."

why oh why does sleep come with the morning?

kheldar | March 3, 2010 - 15:14

Hi Shirley, thanks for reading; I spent ages trying to find the adjective for the last line of that stanza, settled on fulgent because its a nice meaty word. I was sure there was a term sometimes used in film reviews when the film is surreal / atmospheric / psychedelic but couldn't come up with it.

As for your question, could it be cos God indeed has a sense of humour.

David xx :--)

MistakenMagic | March 3, 2010 - 16:56

'Behind his eyelids, though shut tight
Stars appear as points of light,
Then give way to neon swirls
A fulgent tapestry unfurls.'

- love this stanza, David! I too have been suffering from insomnia recently and ironically have just finished a poem on the same topic! I could really relate to this one, well done ;)

Magic xxx

kheldar | March 3, 2010 - 20:46

Thanks Rebecca, hope you get over the insomnia real soon. Have you posted your poem yet? We could compare notes.

David xx

P.S. Have a good night

MistakenMagic | March 3, 2010 - 23:15

Thanks David! You too! The poem should be posted sometime this weekend or early next week - it's still going through the editing stages ;)

Magic xxx

Kahdai | March 5, 2010 - 18:17

'For hours now he's turned and tossed
All hope of sleep completely lost,
Frustration works upon his brain
He feels he'll never sleep again.'

This is just like me, kheldar.
Once you give up on sleeping and then fall asleep in the chair or I always fall asleep just before my mobiles alarm goes off!

kheldar | March 5, 2010 - 18:40

Thanks for that Kadhai, I completely sympathise :--)

Nathan Bednarek | March 5, 2010 - 20:38

The first stanza is basically a definition of most of my nights ;-p

Love this:

'Behind his eyelids, though shut tight
Stars appear as points of light,
Then give way to neon swirls
A fulgent tapestry unfurls.'

Brilliant imagery, rhythm and overall, the poem is crafted to perfection in my humble opinion. Much enjoyed. Well done.

Nathan.

kheldar | March 5, 2010 - 22:02

thank you so much for that Nathan, I'm really pleased you liked it. The stanza you picked out was the hardest to write in that I really wanted to get across what I see when i close my eyes.

Thanks again,

David :--)