The Circus

A problem that affects a lot of people

Wide eyes unsympathetically bleed,
Sane thoughts slowly turning to dust.
You ride a Victorian carousel horse,
Around your head in a must.
You toss and turn repeatedly,
Always greeting the sun awake.
Walking along a knotted tight rope,
That will always tremor and shake.
Elephants jump restlessly around you,
In the circus tent full of noise.
Acrobats swing from your temples,
In sync, full of energy and poise.
A thick fog seeps around you,
In your eyes and in your head.
You've been at the carnival hours,
Now pining and whining for bed.
Walking towards the carnival gate,
A clown stops you in your track.
"Oh no, you can't leave yet!"
"You must stay for one more act!"
So round and round you float,
Your sanity beginning to seep.
The circus never leaving town,
The act of being unable to sleep.

Author's Note

I wrote this in an attempt to portray what insomnia is like. At first, the ideas of a theme of a carnival never sprang to mind, however after using the Victorian carousel horse as an image, it kind of fit well in the sense that not being able to sleep is kind of like your mind being at the circus. The different shows and acts at a circus represent the chaos and the alertness of seeing too many things going on, also like what your brain is like when it's unable to sleep. The clown at the end kind of represents your brain holding you a prisoner to stay awake, as I am quite scared of clowns myself, it also shows I am scared of the insomnia. I hope you enjoy and constructive feedback is greatly appreciated.

Reviews

[Lovecraft]

I'm a night owl and insomniac myself. I loved the way you portrayed Insomnia as a carnival. Very creative and quite appropriate when you ponder on the subject, lol. Your Author's Note made me realize you may very well be on to something, Chaos Incarnate.

I enjoyed this immensely and this poem is relatable to a personage of my disposition. Damn fine work, Danie! :)

[Isabella Ivy]

Now, that's my kind of poetry! I.I.

[Danie]

Glad you enjoyed it Isabella! ☺️

[BBP]

You played this out very nicely. You made it come alive with the descriptions.

[Danie]

Thank you so much! 😊

[micky]

I love this piece...You represent your theme well.
I love your us of visionary and wording very well thought out

[Danie]

Thank you so much I'm glad you liked it ☺️

[Najam Us Saher]

What an impressive write. I love the way you have described insomnia. It really feels the same way and one really gets frustrated. Well written I liked it. ☺

[Danie]

Thank you so much! I think writing this on no sleep actually help me to tune in to my feelings a lot more as well. I'm really glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the lovely feedback!

[Najam Us Saher]

You're welcome :)