Skipping a Beat

Loss

 

 

I lie here in total darkness

my heart beats through

bone and flesh, pounding

the mattress as if trying

 

to create a comfortable

spot to nestle into

I count them out

as if counting sheep

 

until I come upon

that skipped beat and

I then start again

that lost beat has a name,

 

memories, and a death

it has never recovered to a

normal rhythm, I have come

to accept it wholeheartedly

 

I count on it

Reviews

[Carola]

hi patricia, i find having the TV on is a great cure for insomnia, I can never get to watch a whole show unless its mo later than around 7-8 pm'
blue skies to you.
cheerio carola

[Patricia]

Hello Corola! Hugs my friend, thanks for the read and comment and yes that television is a great comfort, and works well for me as well! ;)

[Lorry]

I tried counting sheep once, but their baa'ing kept me awake.
This has the feel of post wake, pre sleep moments that you try to balance on before falling into dream. I find it calming to have the radio news on very low, so I can drift. The only problem being, when you wake up and hear the news, you think you are psychic! 😊

[Patricia]

You’re funny :) thanks for reading and commenting:)

[Stuart Munro]

The human metronome , but keeping the beat can be hard

[Patricia]

hello Stuart thank you for reading and commenting. :)

[Stuart Munro]

It’s a Pleasure

[Fabian G. Franklin]

We all endure some sort of loss in this life if we live long enough. The lost beat, the lost sheep...remarkable write, I very much enjoyed.

[Patricia]

Thank you Fabian you are too kind. :)

[Cherrie Palmer]

... that lost beat has a name... our past can affect our lives; heart and soul.
Very clever and powerful piece.

[Patricia]

Thank you Cherrie :)

[William Michael Reeves]

I like that twist in the end. Using your subject in a different context. Excellent idea Patricia, counting heartbeats like sheep. The skipped beat of a buffering heart. Good thing you're a nurse, you can defibrillate your dreams. Good poem!

[Patricia]

Thanks William :) Hugs!

[Betty Hermelee]

That skipped heart beat is all your memories ( including death) deep inside, and each time your heart skips....you will retrieve different recollections, some buried in cavernous places....and you will accept those flutters...not necessarily fancy them....
Such great metaphors my dear poet!
Hugs, ME

[Vertigo Cat1111]

They say it gets better, but it doesn’t, really. You learn to live with it, but there’s always a void. The way you wrote this is too real. Going through the motions and hanging tight. Living it is a nightmare and even sleep isn’t much of an escape. You are not alone. You captured it so well. Thank you for sharing.

[Patricia]

Thank you for your understanding, you are so appreciated! Hugs!

[Chris Shaw]

You learn to live with it, but you don't get over it. We adjust to loss. Dear Patricua it ebbs and flows as does the tides and I am living it now. Beautiful write, though sad.

Chris

[Patricia]

Thank you Chris for your understanding and yes it comes and goes but still only with sleep. I can't think of anything more difficult than losing a child no matter their age not that it makes others any easier but definitely harder. But I have that constant reminder in my irregular heart rate that happened with his death to keep the memories close in my heart.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Patricia… like counting our Blessings… we snuggle in orchestrated Concerto's with Violins playing Beethoven… it goes in and out like the Tide in the Ocean… poetry sleeps in the deep…
Perfect Peace … gently, Pat

[Patricia]

Thank you Pat for your very beautiful words :)