Insomnia (Life Poem)
Darkness envelopes me like a thin grey blanket
Listen to sleeping body snores warm beside me
Imaginary ghosts emerge out of the shadows
Tomorrow’s plans become tonight’s mental list.
Twist and turn, heart beats fast, should sleep
Can’t sleep, get up, drink tea, read email, yawn
Email replies at three clears the decks, wide awake
Online yesterday’s Irish Times becomes today’s.
Skype “Hi” to friends on PST and office in Asia
In bed, read Robinson Crusoe, always meant to
Watch watch, almost five, two hours to breakfast
Sleep heavy eyes, day bright,7am news, yawn.
poem by Ian Beckett
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Related quotes
Every Morning's Mourning.
Watch you sleep
Dream and roll over
avoid the monsters
and the light
Watch you sleep
Watch you sleep
when the noise
of fifteen
floors above you
crashes in
and wraps you deeper
in your sheets
Watch you sleep
Watch you sleep
through every squeak
and smash and ping
as I serenade you
with my awake
and my breakfast
Watch you sleep
Watch you sleep
with a half-turned
smile on your face
an exposed and naked leg
your hair escaping you
like spilling starlight
Watch you sleep
Watch you sleep
when I kiss
the tiniest sample
of skin on your cheek
and know you wake
when I'm gone
and am gone
until again you sleep
When you wake
Watch you wake
Watch you sleep
poem by Q.R. Gibson
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Maria's Lullaby
An extract from a poem written for my grandchildren to Brahms Lullaby
Sleep; little mice sleep
Mother will watch over you
Shut your eyes and don't peek
Tomorrow the skies will be blue
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
No harm will come whilst I am here
The sun has gone down by the peak
When the day dawns it will appear
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Your father is watching the house
That no owl or cat dares to seek
Harm to creatures or mouse
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Tomorrow you run and play
Now is not time to speak
When you awake a new day
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Rest now for your own sake
Shut your eyes now be asleep
I will be here when you awake
Sleep; little mice sleep.
poem by Thomas Golding
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Evening Song
Sleep, McKade.
Fold up the day. It was a bright scarf.
Put it away.
Take yourself to pieces like a house of cards.
It is time to be a grey mouse under a tall building.
Go there. Go there now.
Look at the huge nails. Run behind the pipes.
Scamper in the walls.
Crawl towards the beckoning girl, her breasts are warm.
But here is a dead man. A murderer?
Kill him with your pistol. Creep past him to the girl.
Sleep, McKade.
Throw one arm across the bed. Wind your watch.
You are a gentleman, and important.
Yawn. Go to sleep.
The continent turning from the sun is quiet.
Your ticker waits for tomorrow morning
And you are alive now.
It will be a long time before they put McKade under the sod.
Sometime, but not now.
Sometime, though. Sometime, for certain.
Take apart your brain,
Close the mouths in it that have been hungry,
They are fed for a while.
Go to sleep, you are a gentleman. McKade, alive and sane.
A gentleman of position.
Tip your hat to the lady.
Speak to the mayor.
You are a personal friend of the mayor's, are you not?
True. A friend of the mayor's.
And you met the Queen of Roumania. True.
Then go to sleep.
Be a dog sleeping in the old sun.
Be a poodle drowsing in the old sun, by the Appian Way.
Be a dog lying the meadow watching soldiers pass on the road.
Chase after the woman who beckons.
Run from the policeman with the dagger. It will split your bones.
Be terrified.
Curl up and drowse on the pavement of Fifth Avenue in the old sun.
Sleep, McKade.
Yawn.
Go to sleep.
poem by Kenneth Fearing
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Daily
you wake up early
you wash your face
you use soap and water
you wipe your face with
a white towel near the sink
hanging
you dress up
you take breakfast
you chew your food
you drink your coffee
you read the papers
hear the news on tv
you go to the garage
warm up your car
you open the garage
and speed your way to your office
you read the whole day
you talk less
you take your lunch
and you cat's nap
you work the whole afternoon
you read a lot
you write
you are tired and ask your driver
to drive you home
you open the door of your house
you sleep with your shoes on
you sleep for some hours
you are hungry
you go to the kitchen and eat
the food made ready for you
by your housemaid
you are alone in this sequence
you turn on the tv
and the whole night you feel
you are the lookout
for something that is about to happen
you ask yourself, what is this all about?
you tell yourself, you do not know, it is just your daily routine
for years and years, and it goes on and on and you have no
way of stopping
they call it life
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Sleep won't Come
It's late at night,
It's time to sleep,
But sleep won't come.
I close my eyes,
Put out the light,
But sleep won't come.
I toss and turn,
I stretch and yawn,
But sleep won't come.
poem by Mary Mc Creath
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My angel, I love to watch you sleep........
When the night comes then your voice calm down
When the moon begin to sail in the sky
then your eyes are closing down to sleep
You fall asleep while dim light illuminates your room
I love to watch you sleep my little girl
You sleep like a little angel within your dreams
Your hair falls both sides of your face and
your hands folded in to the blanket
Your pillows and bunnies are speard around you
You breath soft and low while your innocent heart
beat slowly to the merry tune
I love to watch you sleep my little baby
When I want to kiss you to say good night in your sleep
then you toss your head and stretch your little body
and turn around sleep again while holding your pillow
God brought you to me and given you as his gift
and today you are the greatest treasure in my life
Someone to laugh and dance and sing in my home
I love to watch you sleep my angel
Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam
poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Insomnias Bite
at night it comes
while all else sleep
thoughts creep in
shaded in the dark
crouching in shadows
their intentions unclear
lacking any motive
sleep appears impossible
while tiredness grows
eyes open feel heavy
aches pass over the body
times passes slowly
a clock turned to face away
no need to watch
the silence of the room
passing noise outside
a mind wide awake
unable to switch off
at night it comes
insomnias bite
poem by Matthew Holloway
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I Couldn't Say Goodbye
I watch you as you're sleeping
As I'm standing at the door
I don't want to let you go
But I can't hold on anymore
I just can't find the strength
To say I'm leaving you
It's over now, it's over now
And there's nothing I can do
I couldn't say goodbye
Couldn't stand the pain
Couldn't watch you cry
Knowing that your heart would break
So I let you sleep
Till the morning light
When you wake up and you read the note I write
Telling you that I
I couldn't say goodbye
I'm walking down this rainy street
Thinking you're awake by now
As you read my letter
And the tears fall from your eyes
Just know I tried to make it work
It just wasn't meant to be
I needed you, I needed you
But not the way you needed me
I couldn't say goodbye
Couldn't stand the pain
Couldn't watch you cry
Knowing that your heart would break
So I let you sleep
Till the morning light
When you wake up and you read the note I write
Telling you that I
I couldn't say goodbye
I didn't mean to hurt you
I didn't want to make you cry
It's over now, yes it's over now
I just couldn't say goodbye
I couldn't say goodbye
Couldn't stand the pain
Couldn't watch you cry
Knowing that your heart would break
So I let you sleep
Till the morning light
When you wake up and you read the note I write
Telling you that I
I couldn't say goodbye
song performed by by Tom Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Yawn
Sees a yawn
Gets infected
With the yawn
And a yawn
Too by itself
Then it tries to
Sleep to
Get some sleep to
Count the ships
And the sheep
A very tired poem
Yawns
But never sleeps
a tired poem
No more it is simply
A poem
Sleepless
True to
Its nature.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Night and Day
Night is bleak and my bed is warm.
Dark is dismal and my home is safe.
Today was torture and happily, I live alone.
The day has ended and I yawn.
The day has ended, but I am holding on.
Today everything went wrong- as it did
Yesterday and the day before.
Nights are dismal and my bed is inviting.
The day is over- I am tired.
I am tired but am trying to keep my eyes open.
I am fighting sleep although
Today was hell on earth.
I can hear voices inside my head saying
“Tomorrow is another day.”
Nighttime is dreary and today was
A fight to stay alive.
Today is over, and I yawn and keep my eyes open.
If tomorrow is another day and
Night is bleak, dark and relentless-
What am I holding onto?
No matter how dismal is the night and
How filled with pain today was-
I cannot let myself fall asleep and awaken, then
Find myself in hell’s brushfire only to
Begin another day…
Claudia Krizay
poem by Claudia Krizay
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Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!
SLEEP
Sleep, sleep, sleep
It’s magnificent and nice,
With dreams beyond wonder,
Sleep! sleep! sleep!
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Eyes tightly closed,
A little smile on you r cheeks,
Feeling the warm sensations
Of the pure and precious sleep,
Sleep! sleep! sleep!
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Forgetting insane things of the mixed world outside
Relax my little one, feel the gentle breeze,
Do not worry about tomorrow, do not weep,
Wake up fresh in the morn with a recuperated mind,
Fresh and blessed with a wonderful sleep,
SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP!
JERINE JAMES (3RD JULY 07)
poem by Jerine James
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He Cannot Sleep
He cannot sleep
with eyes wide open
he does not see enough light
through this blinding darkness
he feels the recession thundering
like an enormous quake
on a Richter scale
with unfathomable
logarithmic upheaval
as joblessness
cries out for mercy
rising like a tsunami
in tumultuous waves
wallowing in our hopes
for a better tomorrow
often times
job openings make mockery
of our social fabric
lashing away with emptiness
or nibbling away
at our broken dreams
like piranhas
only leaving our bones
for the breakfast table
with our eyes wide open
he cannot sleep
we cannot sleep
sleep.
poem by Leonard Dabydeen
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I Know You Live A Very Simple Life
i know my friend that
you live a very simple life out there
waking up in the morning
working in the office
buying food in the market
watch tv
sleep early at night
wake up early again
listen to the morning news
a visit in the chapel
work in the office again
a chat with friends
a little drink of cali with them
sometimes
and no broken heart to nourish
like a wound that does not heal.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Hamlet soliliquy insomnia
'To sleep, or, not to sleep?
That is the question
Whether it is nobler in the mind
To heave the leaded unslept eyes of sleep
Adrift in that uncertain hour
Between the hem of dawn
And sombre headed night
Or drink the hemlock of dispair
And sleep herewith eternally
In some far distant land?
I, but there's the rub
For in that sleep of death
What dreams may come?
When we have shuffled off our mortal duvets
Must give us pause,
And wrench thus the heavy eyed soul of heaven
With a careful prayer
And thus without relent
Allow the troubled heart and troubled thoughts
No rest but beckon in the coming dawn
With one last stretch
One final yawn
Alas I melt and thaw into a dew!
yvette smith march 09
poem by Yvette Smith
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Dedicated to ppl who dont sleep
Sleep, sleep, sleep
It’s magnificent and nice,
With dreams beyond wonder,
Sleep! sleep! sleep!
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Eyes tightly closed,
A little smile on you r cheeks,
Feeling the ambiance
Of the pure and precious sleep,
Sleep! sleep! sleep!
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Forgetting insane things of the mixed world outside
Relax my dear, feel the gentle breeze,
Do not worry about tomorrow, do not weep,
Wake up fresh in the morning with a recuperate mind,
Fresh and blessed with a wonderful sleep,
SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP!
poem by Tejaswini Iyer
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Warmer Place To Sleep
Well I been up to the mountain
Seen the ashes down below
I had breakfast with the wiseman
He told me what he thought I should know
And Ive been to bed with jezabel
And I found the well as deep
And Id trade in my ambitions
For a warmer place to sleep
Well Ive seen the heart of darkness
Read the writing on the wall
And the voice out in the desert
Was the voice out in the hall
And once he called me abel
And once he called me cain
And for forty days and for forty nights
I slept out in the rain
Chorus:
Girl can you share your warm bed tonight
I need to find a safe retreat
Someplace where they cant see my eyes
I need to find a warmer place to sleep
Well I rested in the devils arms
Ive chased the hounds of hell
I played truth or dare with the angels
And as I fall as I can tell
That a heart of gold aint no better
Than a heart torn from the street
And Id trade in my heart of stone
For a warmer place to sleep
Chorus:
Girl can you share your warm bed tonight
I need to find a safe retreat
Someplace where they cant see my eyes
I need to find a warmer place to sleep
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sleep Forever
Down I lie
Sleeping all day
Still asleep for years
Surrounded by tears
Of friends, relations and further
But still sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
My eyes all closed extremely shut
My body is dry, straight and flat
As I lie in wooden house
Helpless like a dead mouse
Alone with no any other
As I sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
In my best black suit
My voice on mute
Waiting for the judgement
In a new environment
Coping with underground weather
As I sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
I've left all my worth
And ignored all my breath
Tell that I slept to each and every head
For that's a polite word to me as the dead
To come back I'll never
It's a sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
poem by Walani Ndhlovu
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Time To Sleep
Sleep, sleep now my baby
Do not wait for your daddy
He’ll be home when you rise
So go to sleep, close your eyes
Sleep, sleep now my baby
I will read you a story
I will sing you a lullaby
I’ll be here don’t you cry
Sleep, sleep now my baby
Tomorrow is a promise to see
You’ll wake up on your daddy’s knee
And together spend the day with glee
poem by Rose de Ramar
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Lullaby Of London
As I walked down by the riverside
One evening in the spring
Heard a long gone song
From days gone by
Blown in on the great north wind
Though there is no lonesome corncrakes cry
Of sorrow and delight
You can hear the cars
And the shouts from bars
And the laughter and the fights
May the ghosts that howled
Round the house at night
Never keep you from your sleep
May they all sleep tight
Down in hell tonight
Or wherever they may be
As I walked on with a heavy heart
Then a stone danced on the tide
And the song went on
Though the lights were gone
And the north wind gently sighed
And an evening breeze coming from the east
That kissed the riverside
So I pray now child that you sleep tonight
When you hear this lullaby
May the wind that blows from haunted graves
Never bring you misery
May the angels bright
Watch you tonight
And keep you while you sleep
song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Interactive Poetry
when i wake up this morning
sleep is still sleeping
and i slip out of the blanket
not to disturb sleep which
is still soundly snoring
last night we did not pretend
that we were two dead people
sleep was tightly curled upon itself
its arms were not around me
and i could not remember anymore
exactly
whatever happened
to me
or us
if there ever be
this morning
sleep is dead
and i survive
to meet another face of death
in the kitchen
and also in the rest room
and also outside the house
into the road and in the office
where i am working
there are so many faces of death
in my own world
and i am not the loyal subject of sleep
which is death's younger sister
neither am i a friend of death
nor its foe
for out of this everyday encounter
death becomes nothing
but another furniture in the hall
another rock in the garden
part of the numerous leaves in the air
one of those many ' its'
that does not
really disturb me anymore
tonight i will sleep with sleep again
(it is dead and unburied)
i do not name sleep for you
since i too does not know about its true details
or identity
its name its age
when it was born
though i know exactly when it really died
as i have already told you
and what totally is it exactly
the whole truth about its snores and sleep walks and talks
its secrets inside those thick blankets
for in truth in this journey
we sleep with sleep
most of the time
(do i hear ninety percent approving?)
we do not know much of it anyway
or frankly
much less
perhaps
at any rate
(and this may have bored you
to an ending that
bears no significance to your present work)
how can we be interested with such an ordinary matter
that occurs
every minute of the hour?
and what is it that is really worth
writing and
understanding in this world
that does not listen?
(do i hear 95% of you screaming?)
poem by Sebastian Soberania
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