Insomnia plagues my nights.
She tickles me between the ribs,
plays with my fingers and toes,
counts them one by one
as she props open my sagging
eyelids with her prickly fingers.
She sends shock waves down
my trembling spine. She cramps
muscles well-past exhaustion,
and pinches stretched-thin nerves.
After raking her nails down my
tightened calves, she sits back
and cackles, reveling in my misery.
How I long to slap her face,
To send her flying into my
neighbor’s bed so she can inflict
herself on another unsuspecting soul.
But I don’t.
I restrain myself, praying that she’ll slip
away as quietly as she arrived,
leaving me in peaceful slumber.
Insomnia, you are not my chosen
best friend or my bosom-buddy.
Leave me alone that I may travel
the distant shores of my dream-world,
experience the refreshing dip into the
pools of numbness, and drift deep
into the night, soaking up energy.
Sleep, come to me as softly as
a kitten tiptoeing into my lap.
Lick my parched lips with your
roughened tongue. Caress my
cheeks with your silky fur.
Drip sleep-inducing nectar into
my eagerly waiting eyes, then
rock me to sleep with the rhythmic
beating of your heart.
I await.
