day eight: insomnia routine

the past few days
every evening
after dinner
too tired
to do
anything

those dreamlike
friendly voices
bach passages
as some count sheep
lean back
unbalanced
soon jarred awake
surprised
time to put
these weary bones
to bed

four hours later
silent gentle
snap!
clock says
not yet morning
slip into
the bathroom next door
then climb
softly into bed again
so not to awaken
She who Sleeps Soundly
my discomfort
tick tick tick
roll every few minutes
side to side
my face
a field of itches
if it comes
the next dream
will shake me awake
hard
with no memory of it
casting me back
to full conscious state
the clock still glowing
barely moved

i surrender
return to my office
sit at my computer
kitties all come
to worship
and be worshipped
always happy
to see me
klang purring
in my lap
comfort and joy
others competing
for my attention
i stare
at a flat screen
glance at email
weather forecasts
misspelled pharmaceuticals
list digests
"foreign husband died brutally, can i use your bank account in christ?"
read, delete, read, delete
answer an email or two
if i can find coherence
type type type
words pour from me
making sense optional
saving optional
look at the news
opinion disguised as reporting
the eternal
ugly discourse
for profit
insomnia

time
sneaks
to eight a.m.
time
to start
another workday
that is when
my body
tells me it's
time to go back
to sleep
please?