Ah my friends please lend an ear,
I have a secret I must share.
When the sun goes down at night
and the moon is in full sight,
I dim the lights, turn off the phone,
slip into bed, but not alone.
For when I crawl between the sheets
it is with Byron, Shelley, and Keats.
Shelley makes me a wanton soul,
ever playing the lover's role.
When I'm wrapped in Byron's prose
the fervor penned curls my toes.
I'm up 'til the stars are at sleep.
Keats words of beauty make me weep.
I have this need I can't deny
that makes me keep a poet nigh.
When I close the book at last
there are no shadows to be cast.
For I have wiled away the hours
enthralled with the poet's powers.
SLEEPING WITH THE FAN ON
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Texas, where summers are more than hot,
Sleeping with a fan turned on is a must-have spot.
With a whirl and a breeze,
It brings sweet, cool ease,
While we snooze in a sweat-soaked, warm cot!
We sleep while it spins with a roar,
As sweat drips and puddles the floor.
With a chuckle, we say,
"Goodnight, heat of the day!
Tomorrow, we'll battle once more!"
So if you should visit the Lone Star State,
Know the heat is an oppressive weight
Just find a big fan,
Join the cool Texan clan,
And together we’ll laugh at our fate!
Chorus
I'm deeply sleeping
while she's breathing;
two breaths mixing,
two hearts beating.
Verse I
The wintry night totally dark and cold
embraces us, it can never make us shiver;
we keep warm and feel behind delighted
each heartbeat measures a minimal fear.
Verse II
The many secrets of past loves remain inside,
we've buried all evidence, too afraid to reveal any
of them that won't pose a threat if laid aside;
it'd be better to hide them than expose infidelity.
Verse III
We are fully conscious and explore
the new dreams of the imagination;
husband and wife exhausted of desire,
long hours of pleasure were gratification.
Verse IV
No morning appears to be brighter or prettier than ours;
has the heavy guilt disappeared through vanished shadows?
Have we stared into each other's eyes and truly confessed
what we hide in the depth of conscience that makes us blind?
The clouds are torn down
they're hers as they mist
where pillow seeps; where
dark, no woman sleeps
for she's knotted
a cruel twist in female
sheets — secret fingers long
where short the dreams
Eyes nestle a phantom or
a tree — shut closet,
my innermost girl has me
wafting above her keep —
asleep
like to do it with you
Sleeping with you
Is like honey that melts in the mouth.
Suddenly all my desire for sex returns.
SLEEPING AND WAKING
We sleep in God's peace,
Why wake up in Satin's wars?
Let's wake how we sleep!
I remember the days when I'd fall
asleep before hitting the pillow.
Ah, the joy of a sound sleep.
I might not have been at my best
in the morning all things considered.
Day-old makeup very much past its prime.
My eyelashes were caked and looking scraggly,
my lipstick smeared across my cheek and pillow,
eyeshadow streaked clear across my forehead.
Thankfully one good shower made me whole again!
AP: 2nd place 2025
sleeping buddha
taming roaring dreams
gentle whispers
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Waking up through the night really can't sleep
Mind is wondering fast, and everything is so deep
Staring at the dark, your body is laying still
Everything becomes silent, and the picture becomes clear
The distinct level of conversation that's within yourself
Is a mirror of a reflection from the mind calling for help
To stare into your consciousness with a metaphorical invasion
The physical will stay asleep, but the mental begin exploration
The darkness becomes a pandora box that you're trying to escape
To move back into reality form before it's too late
As you're laying there still with a sleepless rest
Your spirit returns back to the body with a physical aspect
As I watch you sleeping there,
seventy years of living etched into your silvery-gray hair,
I feel my love for you as deeply and as much
as I did that night when you first let me touch
your exquisite beauty, here, there, and everywhere.
Gone are the rhythms of your body
As you lay beside me sleeping,
Hair cascading across our pillow,
With your arms so soft and warm.
Our cold wrinkled sheets rest half empty,
Save for yesterday’s perfume.
hush, sweet child, your fate is spun
the blackened threads have just begun
upon your brow a crown may gleam
but dark things stir beneath the dream
a spindle waits, a thorn’s caress
a single drop—no more, no less
and when it falls, so shall you sleep
where shadows coil and secrets creep
no lover’s kiss, no mother’s tear
no whispered prayer shall reach you here
the stars will pale, the dawn will die
a kingdom lost to lullaby
and I shall watch as roses fade
their petals wilt in mournful shade
for none shall wake, and none shall weep
when love and light are mine to keep
One of the hardest things
in my life I've had to do
is having to go to bed alone,
learning to sleep without you.
This bed of ours we shared
now always feels so damn cold.
I don't recall it being this way
when I had you to hold.
All the emptiness surrounding me
refuses to let me get any sleep
and causes my heart to hurt;
there is no comfort I can keep.
Eventually I will begin to drift
into that somewhat sleeping place
but not until all those tears
have finished rolling down my face.
"Great memories are the best kind to have but some memories bring a waterfall of tears." By Poet
Memories are sleeping in an old dusty box.
Even the ones I had forgotten about.
Many years are awakening before me.
Old love letters I now read and cry.
Roses faded from a Valentine's Day dance.
I feel each memory as I pull it out.
Examining what has been tucked away.
Seeing and feeling what once had been.
I’m constantly sleeping while you are away
From one dream to another I roam
Like people change stations, and trains in soft sway
Deliver them where to they go
When I wake up and there’s no sign around
That could remind me of you
I’m falling asleep and the day without sound
Falls in the evening blue
There’s no destination in dreams to arrive
On every station and street
I look for your face and this keeps me alive
Seems easy to live on a feet
I’m sleeping for years while you are away
Excuse me for this, if I’m wrong
But I’ll be awakened when you come to stay
As soon as you turn the light on.
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