Insomnia

Darkness pervades the air around me

in a whispering shell of shadowy figures.

It presses up against me, suffocating,

as I fight to turn my face from the silence.

 

Too warm, too cool... Even as I banish one,

a new discomfort wraps around me.

The overwhelming stillness shocks me,

ice-cold shards of fear piercing my heart.

 

My mind accelerates into overdrive,

picking out mysteries of the universe

and gnawing away at them, even as they do

to my faith, courage, spirit, and heart.

 

Fragments of poems and books,

some conjured from deep memory,

some woven from the shreds of my thoughts,

spin in a whirling tornado of sleeplessness.

 

I toss and turn for what seems like hours,

counting sheep in the depths of my mind.

But what do I do when the dancing sheep

are transformed into demons ready to strike?

 

The wild river of my imagination,

floods and swamps every particle of my being.

I'm trapped in the machinations of myself,

heaved through a stormy sea of dreams.

 

Finally, I drift offward into the void,

no dreams to comfort me, a comfort in itself.

Non-existence is the only freedom

from my blazing thoughts, emotions, and dreams.

Author's Note

As always, feel free to critique.

Reviews

[Sarah]

This was fantastic! You captured every fear and dark thought that haunts you during insomnia - especially the second and third stanzas. Insomnia is one of the scariest states to be in, but something that quite a few of us have suffered through. You capture it perfectly, and your description is flawless. Great job!!!

[Jillian]

Oh how I can relate to this one. great job!

[A LaDy NaMeD D]

As an insomniac i do believe you nailed this one. *sigh* it's six am and i still haven't gone to sleep lol. This made me feel...at least i'm not the only person.

Danni J

[Dani California]

Perfect!!! Yep. lol I know this place all too well!
I live here!! lol

This is magnificent Justin! Truly....

You've captured insomnia perfectly. To the T!
Love the flow and imagery... though that imagery
can be distracting while trying to sleep...lol. Ugh.
I'm getting ready to resolve myself to this fight
again tonight. Wish me luck! lol

Outstanding as always my friend ! :)

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Excellent piece. Describes the incessant difficulty with insomnia so perfectly well. I, too, have struggled with this in the past yet am lucky that this has passed now. What a great job you have done in capturing the essence of this nuisance. Wonderful visuals as well. To not dream at all - you are right - is definitely sometimes much more comforting than thinking all the time. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Light,
Siddartha

[Paul Wallace]

Wow. That was a well written poem. I love the use of description like the line: "It presses up against me, suffocating, as I fight to turn my face from the silence." It gave me shivers up my spine, which is very hard to do to me. Awesome poem! :)

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

I like this poem much better than mine. Very nicely written. Thank you for sharing. Debileah

[Pauline Marie Daley]

You really captured that sleepless state. You really are thrown into a "whirling tornado of sleeplessness" You conveyed your thoughts very clearly and beautifully. Awesome poem. :-)

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

Yup, that sounds like me. Lately I've really been hating my insomnia. I like this poem and it's wonderfully written. Great job!!!

Heather

[Wildfleour]

Oh, I hate that place known as Insomnia. But in this case it inspired your poem so it was worth a short visit there! :)