The clock strikes 12
The world is asleep
Your lights are out
The time is nigh
For you to rest
Yet, your eyes are open
As relaxation goes
This is the ultimate test
You lie there waiting
For your mind is broken
As it seems, you cannot sleep
You cannot rest
You are cursed with alertness
Well into sunset
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
Its 12:04
The night is long
The clock strikes 1
You passed that time
Those 56 minutes
With bated breath
With no distractions
Other than the shadows above
You befriend them
For they see your strife
They feel your pain
What world is it
When the monster under your bed
The one of nightmares
Of fears
Of “Mommy I’m scared”
Is not to fear
For it is a monster’s sympathy
That is the lowest of all
You start to sweat
You toss and turn
You close your eyes
And then open them again
You sit up
You lie back down
Your stomach rumbles
Time for a midnight snack
You warm some milk
To see if it helps
You down it all
You lie down
Maybe this time
Maybe this time
Maybe this night
You can get some rest
You close your eyes
You open them again
Not tonight
It seems
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
Its 1:12
The night is long
The clock strikes 2
You look up at your ceiling
The shadows shifting
You create stories
They walk home
They see their family
That one is funny
That one is scary
They all dance before your vision
As you try to get some sleep
Your eyes don’t close
Desperation is killing you
You remember your day
Any day
You remember that awkward handshake
That odd situation
You remember the things you’re not proud of
All of your stress
Your work due tomorrow
Your test in a couple of hours
You worry
You think
You try to close your eyes
But your subconscious mind refuses to take over
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
It’s 2:20
The night is long
The clock strikes 3
You see your parents
Remember telling them your issues
Remember your friends
Telling them your issues
“I can’t sleep”
“Just close your eyes, it's not that hard”
But it is
You can’t explain the hopelessness
The dread
You know
You can’t tell
How you go to bed
At ungodly hours
Alone with your thoughts
Awake with your mind
You wish you could just
Close your eyes
And go to sleep
But life has other plans
The monster under your bed
Comes out to see you
You talk to it
But there’s nothing there
You speak to yourself
And imagine your sanity
Slipping away
Just like a dream
But alas
If you could dream
This would all be over
Your mind would be at peace
And you would feel good
That
That right there
That’s the dream
Can you feel it?
Can you see it?
No
No you can’t
As your eyes are plastered open
And your mind is too
You talk to the monster
And share your trouble
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
It’s 3:05
The night is long
The clock strikes 4
The hunger is back
You walk downstairs and get some food
Some salty
Some sweet
Not crunchy
Not crinkly
You cannot afford
To wake anyone else
From peaceful slumber
Although you cannot rest
You finish your meal
At an ungodly hour
You feel tired
Maybe you can rest
Maybe even sleep
You go back upstairs
You go to bed
You close your eyes
And wait
And wait
And wait
It is no use
Of course you know
Slumber evades you
You open your eyes
And stare at the ceiling
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
Its 4:32
The night is long
The clock strikes 5
And now its time
To categorize all of your moments
From embarrassing to horrible
From a scale of 1 to 10
Your mind starts to drift
And you ponder existence
And time itself
Such a wonderful concept
Such a horrific concept
But nothing more than our own creation
Yet it outlives us
For years and years
You ponder how miniscule we are
Within this enormous expanse
You feel existential dread seep in
Yet sleep cannot seep in
Ironically you feel more productive
At 5 in the morning
Than you do when normal people are awake
Maybe you are
Maybe you aren’t
Maybe normal itself is a concept
That should soon be forgotten
And you
The mutant who lies awake
Can one day rest
For a long long time
There is no sleep
For those who think
There is no sleep
For those like me
And yet
And yet
…
You realize your mind has drifted too far
You try to get some rest
Some time to close your eyes
You try to go to sleep
But of course
Sleep will not take you
You check the clock
With tantalizing fear
Its 5:45
The night is long
The clock strikes 6
You finally feel
As if you can get some rest
Finally
You could leap with joy
Your mind is closing
Your thoughts are resting
You make sure to see
Your clock before
Your mind slowly closes
The time
Is 6:36
As you fall asleep
You cry inside
As you wake
Not too minutes later
At 6:38
The alarm clock blares
Your mind is broken
Yet you have to awaken
To take on another day
And another night
For the cycle will continue
Without a stop
Until
You fall asleep
For the last time
Maybe then
You could finally get some rest