Wishing for Sleep (a poem)

Wishing for Sleep

Written January 5th, 2012

How I wish I could sleep at night

But my waking dreams keep my eyes wide

And the stars shine so bright

Tires hiss on wet pavement

Passing like tumbling leaves, a phantom sigh

The music spins and twirls with the shadows

Singing with the lonely midnight train that calls goodbye

How I wish I could sleep at night

So worn out from a crowded day

That made my mind so dusty and numb

And changed my feet to sore old men

Yet energy still flows in my veins with a soft hum

I see snippets of the future on paths unchosen

Scattered across starry skies and stormy oceans

How I wish I could sleep at night

But my head is bursting with you

My ears full of a voice of warm velvet

A smile so wide and eyes so blue

I remember the heat of your touch today

And dream of the flames of tomorrow

A familiar wandering spirit fills my heart again

How I wish I could sleep at night

As I watch new pathways unfold

Meandering in random trails from my eyes

Twisting, curling, splitting to destinations untold

My future is full of messy intersections and noisy interstates

Laden in a mystic morning fog

You’ve been adding more roads since you first reached for me

How I wish I could sleep at night

While anxiety buzzes in my toes

Fear slithers in my stomach

Correlating with the way my adoration grows

As I believe more with each passing day

That you’d rather hold on that let go

Leaving me to smash in deceived pieces across the floor

The icy moon sings to me

Lighting up fields of snow to sparkle

As far as the eye can see

The promise of your arms soothes a troubled soul

The phantom of your lips thaws a jumbled mind

The memories of your voice a sweet lullaby

It is time to succumb to sleep; the day is done

And if you promise to be there in the morning

I’ll continue to rise each day with the sun