Sleepless Nights

Insomnia, familiar friend, crawled into bed this summer night so once again, inflamed with dread I wander now in pitch of dark and touch the places, now by heart, that sprawl unstirred by weary minds This lonely place, where I used to come where armless grief, and headless doubt and worry filled the rooms I know you cold, my land of oz So ruthless do you change your face into a place I once refrained But, don't pretend to make me fear, toxic robber of my sleep I've known you much too long You masquerade in shades of gray And now I know that dark of night, is not the blackest thing And room by room, I'll play the game until the light of day The shadows magnify your art and though they magnify my loss of sleep and while I've tossed and turned in vain I've lost the lonely albatross that pulled against the grain From hooded thresholds I embark to find a language of the dark A liquid language of a mystic night, that switches on the light I've walked the halls of ghosts I knew, and those I hope to meet I've felt the stares, and shared myself, no secrets left to keep But not tonight, familiar friend you bask in myth I understand I'll fill the tasks that need my hands, until the light of day... --------------- For Leonora Galinta's Contest