lost in a dream
the sandman spins his tales
weaving wishes, vivid yet fleeting
so simple and yet.....

shuffling through motions
to pick myself up
grasping for the sun, wind, life
[warm cold alive]

a deep breathe
a waking sigh

farewell, my king of dreams

It is 3:00
And I am still awake.
I stare into the darkness
While others rest-
Like the dead.

It is 3:12
And I lie in a bed that isn't my own,
Questioning everything.
Why do I still have bad dreams?
Why can't I ever sleep?

It is 3:33
And time doesn't exist anymore.
The clock in the hall deafens my ears,
With its incessant ticking-
An endless tap in my skull.

It is 3:46
And not even my dog,
Is making a sound.
Am I the only one to live now?
What kind of purgatory have I fallen into?

It is 3:52
And my eyes are glued to this screen.
The world rests in peaceful slumber,
But all I do is tap out poems
That no one truly cares to read.

It is 4:03
Why am I still awake?
Because the memories I face in my sleep,
Are scarier than anything
That comes from under the bed.

Every night, before sleep,
I'm blessed to say —
I'm holding my mother's hand.

Her touch,
so warm,
like a bonfire on a winter day.

Her skin,
like wet sand,
washed over
by storms and sea.

The lines —
an endless maze of beauty,
carved by the Creator.

A secret moment,
shared only between us.

In the darkness
of the night —
hearts entwined,
becoming one golden orb,
radiating love and light.

Our souls combine,
as if
I'm once again
her baby
in the womb.

Her pulse,
gently throbbing,
ripples through my body —
gently rocking
her baby
to sleep.

i am a light sleeper                                              
    who wakes before my alarm
but  i have my own personal Witching Hour
a gape                                                    
    when­ I am utterly unguarded      
        and vulnerable  to serpent enemies

it's then that they broach and whisper me suggestion
it's then that i whimper like an abused and receptive whelp
then that i devolve into a manipulatable child of therapy
it's then that weights are stacked upon my chest      
    and my breaths become short  pinned  and pained

even with my wife and child to my side                            
they patiently poison me  with measured pipette drops
run them down a string like spittle
bitter mushroom down the back of my throat                  
and dreams warp toxic like cellophane near a fire
and what visions !
warrens of vivid insecurities as loved ones                        
strip their gloves  and get to work ripping out the pegs
with twisted mocks  tocking noggins              
         and flails of humiliation oiling apart
               the mechanism of my meaning

they look at their watches   time is up
they leave with their instruments      
make idle chit-chat on their way out
lock the front door with the spare key
and place the key back under the mat

We are fragile figures. Our pillows at the outskirts of paradise. Befriended by dreams, the mind begins to process the day in Kodachrome. Once it starts, there's no turning off the pictures. She lies beside me. She's reached paradoxical sleep. I'm still on the outside looking in.

Take me there. Beyond the eyelids, where the mind wanders each night. To where the seeds of disturbance must be resolved within us. Some are strengthened. Others desolve as mist. This is how we survive. Chemical fires burn, become tides of memory. Pass the torch of preservation. Keeping them warm and remembered.

A miraculous routine. Live together. Dream alone. Desolate. Magnificent. My eyes are at the moment the apparitions are shut away. My mind in this place, a stretched fabric. Yet, it's far from alone. In the cataloging of miles and years, I sense an odd fellowship cresting without limit. I thought I saw her smile in agreement from her side of sleep.

i cove my eyes                                   
breathe and billow my way
borne and berthed in dark green fur
it operates   sway of la lune and sea
i hat breath  pat at it deeper and be
                                             silting