Insomnia

Cold nights and noisy neighbors mean that, for me, a good sleep is rarely had. Add on to that early morning alarms, finals week preparations, and hours spent driving all over God's green earth, and you have a perfect storm. I had thought I might catch up on sleep over Christmas break, but found that I can no longer sleep past 6:30 a.m. I keep telling myself that I'll make up for it all some day soon, but that day never seems to come.


Insomnia

As surely as I lay my head
to rest, recumbent on the down,
the stars align, by compline led
and blessed above our weary town,
and firmly do I follow at the thread
and sable gown

that furls, now, from east to west,
to wind the world in a net;
the artless by an art possessed,
the mind enfolded to forget
such languid life our leisure would invest.
How can I let

my hours fade, so undefined?
They fly as quickly as the frost
and leave me restive and resigned,
a tired debtor. Time is lost,
and even as the stars are realigned
at such a cost.

So take your pleasure as you ply
your bed and berth; the grasping hand
of dawn is greedy and the sky
is reddening. Upon command,
the stars and I exchange a last goodbye
above this land.