Throughout the Night Distressed, Unblessed By Sleep

Throughout the night distressed, unblessed by sleep, I turn and writhe and toss, and vainly watch The seconds and the minutes slowly stretch To hours; and long since done with counting sheep, Despair of morning. All alone I pitch And sweat and wanly see the clock-hands sweep Inexorably on. And so I keep Unwilling vigil, condemned to spend such Nights of restless exile. For I worry: They’ve sent you overseas, and now you fight A foe implacable and alien… Stars and moon speed overhead, and teary Spells will increasingly become my plight, While anxious waiting is my regimen. This Petrarchan sonnet is a variant on the model -- some half-rhymes and a scheme of abbabaab cdecde