- Vol. 09
- Chapter 11
insomnia
TIRED to the bone but not sleepy, i stare at the moon
OFten she turns in before me, dipping beneath
THE ridge, sinking towards the sea beyond.
NEWS travels slowly on the backs of whales
TIRED reports of bleached reefs the color
OF sand dollars, another tanker run aground
THEse headlines get caught in my throat:
NETted gills, plastic straws, another degree hotter
TIRED, but unable to drift off, i’m a castaway
OFfering up a constellation of soothing rhymes to ease my
ANXIETY while adrift on my mattress, a duvet sail,
TIRED oars battered by wind, by salt, by overthinking thoughts
OF destruction, ruminating on extinction, harboring a pit of
REGRET as the remnants of dinosaurs are extruded into molds
SO the once mighty land lizards become mini plastic replicas.
I tattooed a brachiosaurus on my leg beneath a scar from when i
FELL off my new moped driving it out of the lot
ASLEEP or awake, gasoline-powered dreams crumble
AND late stage capitalism rears its ugly head, Henry Ford
DREAMED of cheap cars for the masses
I dreamed of the freedom of the open road and
WAS determined to get back behind the wheel after
A hiatus, ending up in Europe via the jungles of Asia, you see a
LEOPARD does not eat hydrogenated fats, aspartame, ingredients not
MADE for its countenance and contrary to its disposition
OFf in the shadows of darkness, stalking its prey at
MIDNIGHT, oblivious to the poachers camped beneath the
CLOUDS that obscure the moon, all of the stars
insomnia
AND rob the cosmos of its glory—at least from the vantage of Earth
THE swift planet—Mercury—has no atmosphere, all of the stars shine
BRIGHT but you’ll have to hold your breath ... the
MOON on the other hand is enveloped in a light blanket of sodium, potassium
SHONE as each molecule is energized by the sun
THROUGH telescopes that block light from the moon's surface
ME? i'm just another insomniac wondering when it’s my turn to dream