I lay down to sleep
But I’m still awake
The clock keeps on ticking
Despite what’s at stake
My eyelids stay open
As the minutes, they pass
Lying awake with thoughts of the past
The moon fades away
And the sun starts to rise
Now all that I’m feeling
Are tears in my eyes
I never found dreamland
Oh, what a surprise
I must carry this burden
That I’ve come to despise
I tried to focus, I tried to count sheep
But I’m stifled and stirred
Still, I can’t fall asleep
I’m encompassed by darkness
Yet I can’t sleep a wink
I just ponder solutions
Until I’m brought to the brink
To the brink of destruction
Until I get some rest
And I fall into slumber
My mission, my quest

The psychic tattoo
of paternity
darker than
fate’s blackest ink

The guilted knife
of maternity
cutting you
near to the brink

A prodigy alone
in the shadows
offspring of
scorn and disdain

Begging for love
and acceptance
from parents
— called heartache and pain

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)