I can't sleep
No, not because of the demons that normally torment me.
Tonight is different.
I creep downstairs
Footsteps light, floorboards creaking slightly.
My father is playing Fleetwood Mac on the loudspeakers.
Over Stevie Nicks' smooth, crooning voice I tell him to turn it down, in barely a whisper;
"I'm tired, dad.
Let me sleep.
Play it tomorrow."
I walk into the kitchen and mother is there
Awake, still.
Working.
For the both of us.
Both of her useless children.
I take a glass of milk and sit beside her by the dining table,
Jewels strewn across a cloth,
And listen to her excitedly tell me about her designs
With my eyelids half mast
I finish my milk and walk away
A silent goodnight escapes my lips, barely open.
I leave her to her work.
I take a glance at my father; he's watching The View now.
I walk up the stairs again, silent as a mouse.
I can't sleep.
It's the demons now