Sleep has not resolved with night,
and I find myself awake in the dark
with my present friend, pain,
always beside me, resolute,
robbing me, hacking at my life,
taking me to thoughts about
mortality, as the body ages
and sleep that so often has
restored my mind-body-mood,
has escaped the dark and
I am here, alone, with my
breath, in this body that tells
a story of years winding to
this ragged falling into pain
in a stillness where even my
thoughts of life and death are heard
and become my companions.

 

6/4/2026