Sleepless Night

The cold air conditional chill

gives me quivering goosebumps

the night air outside is perpetually dark

but inside it is always bright.

I glance at my watch

11 pm, the library will shut down soon

kicking me out, were will I go?

Everyone else has left

only I remain, vigorously

grinding out my homework

that I’ve been putting off for weeks.

Once you fall behind

all the paper and digital folders

bury you under a monotony dumpster pile

consumed by anxious fretting over uncompleted tasks

while longing for peaceful sleep that never comes.

The books keep my lonesome self company

artifacts loaded with information

about the past and future

smooth papers that communicate complex ideas

so plainy, words I could never properly express

for someone would surely misunderstand

and scowl in annoyed confusion

at my incoherent words.

As my mind spins into a vortex

bleary eyes detect

a few other students

noses buried in their books

faces shoved close to screens

I feel a sense of kinship with them

fellow overworked spirits

persevering, trying to finish

the tasks placed before them

striving for accomplishment.

But of course, I don’t reach out

a wasteful and egregious action

I’d just be a distraction

a buzzing mosquito

that would surely be swatted

away and blasted with bug spray

mushed into pulpy goop.

Time progresses without direction

marching rhythmically

following a mechanical beat

I can’t keep up

its eating away at my sanity

If only I could go at my own pace

everything would be smooth and relaxed

but reality is cold and cruel.

My gosh, it’s 12

Will I ever finish this work?

No, better to do it latter

My brain needs rest, what a relief

for it’s not healthy to stay up so late.