closet insomniac

you lie awake at night
pondering all the things that might change your life,
things beyond your control,
things you cannot alter.
you cannot fall asleep, try as you might,
and leave a problem unsolved.

you hear eerie sounds
altering your train of thought.
a door shuts softly,
a wooden floor creaks.
is it a guard on the grounds
or your ears trying to keep up with your imagination?

you see a creepy silhouette
standing in the doorway
moving with uncanny elegance.
suspended in mid-air is it something
hung on the door, maybe a jacket?
or an unearthly intruder trying to steal your thoughts?

sleeping peacefully next to you
perhaps dreaming of a parallel universe,
your ever-faithful soul mate
drifts into rapid eye movement.
as if it’s something totally new
you wonder if you will ever be as tranquil?

today ticks over to yesterday
you wish you could just lay back
and relish the serene moonlight.
yearning for elusive slumber that never comes.
still awake at the first rays of dawn you have to say
there is nothing more you want than those forty winks.

(not based on a true story)

- satyajit venkatraman
29th november 2010