A Poem by Simon Clark to Celebrate National Poetry Day 2013**  

I didn’t sleep last night for fear of dreaming,
For if my eyes closed and my mind wandered,
It might picture a time when you walk away,
When the door you held open and invited me through,
Closed,
Shut,
Locked and final,
I didn’t sleep last night for fear of dreaming.

I didn’t sleep last night for fear of waking,
Waking up to a cold and empty bed,
Where my night visions turn into night terrors,
Where you say you never loved me and you never could,
Cold,
Shunned,
Lost and frozen,
I didn’t sleep last night for fear of waking.

I didn’t sleep last night for fear of writing,
For if my ink bled onto its canvas,
Revealing images I’d concealed from view,
Opening the door to see an unrequited love,
Chaste,
Stopped,
Loosed and falling,
I didn’t sleep last night for fear of writing.

I didn’t sleep last night for fear of crying,
The broken tears I hoped would never fall,
Yet looking up at the blanket of ceiling,
The lonely waters erupted and they cleansed my soul,
Cleared,
Soft,
Light and freeing,
I didn’t sleep last night for fear of crying.

I might just sleep tonight; no fear of being,
In my bed of dreams and reality,
Where my daily life is lived in fantasy,
The ecstasy of knowing I can close my eyes; sleep,
Calm,
Smooth,
Laced and fading,
I might just sleep tonight; no fear of being…

…asleep.