Sleepless

A Poem

Falling asleep quickly
might be easy for someone
but staying asleep
might not be —
a noise, a full bladder
is all it takes to end it

or when a single thought
interrupts and awakens
what should be
long-dead memories
you can kiss sleep goodbye
as the mind fills with stories

of places and people
real and unreal
composites of both
in a town or city
known and unknown

walking or driving on
that street you’ve traveled
countless times but turn
the next corner and you’re lost
it’s no longer home or

that overseas home
away from home
now quasi-unrecognizable
where memories swirl within
a fog of people and events

real and imagined
what happened or didn’t
but should have, could have
and the ever-haunting…
regrets, guilt, and what if?

minutes tick at a snail’s pace
an hour feels like three
until you surrender
and stand at dawn, feeling
as if you’ve risen from the grave

a familiar voice whispers
There’s no rest for the wicked.”
but was what you did wicked?
perhaps a little naughty
but surely not wicked.