The Night Shepherds

There is a common remedy for those who wish to sleep They recommend to close your eyes and count imagined sheep Just lie down and think of them lined up in single file And count them bouncing one by one over a farmer's stile. Sheep are very docile many hopeful sleepers find And easily controlled by a less than wakeful mind But yet there is a number who find the task a toll Which does not help them sleep at all, because they lose control. Their sheep are unco-operative: they do not jump on cue They're likely to do other things that sheep just should not do They play leap-frog and some hang-glide or tunnel underground Or make the counting difficult by shuffling around. So, many lie awake at night and hear the ticking clock Counting down the hours as they struggle with their flock All alone they battle long through till the morning's light The sad and unsuccessful sleepless shepherds of the night. Barely awake they suffer by the sleepless light of day By night they try to slumber while their sheep cavort and play Their woollen nerves warped, wefted, on fragile mental looms They alternate sleep therapy with doctor’s waiting rooms. So, if you are the fortunate and get your eight hours sleep Be grateful for your fortune and your well disported sheep And give a thought for others, who are not so kindly blessed Whose sheep are so unruly and whose sleep is so distressed.