Sleep giggles from the corners of my mind,
A child, playing hide and seek.
And I search,
calling its name in a frantic need of assurance
that it hasn't wandered too far off.

It waits in closets and cabinets
crouching, playful,
when I open the doors of my consciousness
hoping to find it in spaces
the moonlight   can't
                                           quite
                                                        reach.

Then, as the sun rises
and it sees with dismay
that I have given up,
thinking it must have fled to the empty house on the corner
it curls up beside me
with a smile of childish satisfaction
and embraces me with sincerity
unmatched by any apology.