In the quiet hours, dark and deep,
A restless tide disturbs my sleep.
From dreams half-formed, I must arise,
Chasing relief under midnight skies.
The clock ticks slow, the hallway’s long,
A pilgrimage to night’s faint song.
The body’s need, a stubborn plea,
Pulls me from comfort, pulls me free.
For some, it’s sugar’s silent creep,
Diabetes woven through sleep,
Or hearts that strain in nightly beat,
With fluid tides they cannot keep.
And others know that sleep won’t stay
As sleep apnea steals breath away.
Kidneys whisper, “Come to me,”
And water flows, a nightly plea.
Perhaps a pill that saps the night,
A diuretic’s stubborn bite.
Or habits sown in coffee’s brew,
Or wine that stained the evening blue.
We seek to rest, to gently float,
Yet each night brings the same small boat.
The moonlight guides; I answer still,
A silent room, a stubborn will.
Yet still we find our way back down,
To sheets like rivers where we drown,
Where sleep lies broken, not quite whole,
And dreams drift out beyond control.
So here’s to rest, though thin it seems,
Between the waking and the dreams.
May dawn bring peace, a gentler shore,
Where night’s demands intrude no more.
