reading in my cozy bed, ridiculously late
words begin to slur and rhymes, to blear
my eyelids fight me — like a heavyweight
goodnight, sweet sleepy zzzzzhakespeare
—Terri Guillemets
sleep
Mocking my insomnia
We have now entered the birds-chirping-all-night season.
—Terri Guillemets
At two-fifty-nine
Prayer to the middle-of-the-night gods:
please let me sleep —
thank you for the beautiful moon
and winter silence
but please let me fall back to sleep —
no offense.
Amen.
—Terri Guillemets
Insomnia ticking
three o’clock —
anxiety, regret
in the depths of worry
swept away in the
whirlwind of nothing —
a horrible nothing
—Terri Guillemets
blackout poetry created from Octave Mirbeau, The Diary of a Chambermaid, 1891–1900,
Can’t freakin’ sleep
insomnia is invisible
but hard as concrete
—Terri Guillemets
blackout poetry created from Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, 1996, Henry Holt paperback, First Owl Books 1997 edition,
Summer-nap
I drifted into a summer-nap
under the hot shade of July
serenaded by a cicadae lullaby
to drowsy-warm dreams
of distant thunder…
—Terri Guillemets
P.S. Thank you to everyone who let me know about USA Today and King Features Syndicate using this poem for their “Cryptoquote” on July 5th. It is quoted as: “I drifted into a
Blaring quiet
A clock is ticking
in my living room —
I never even noticed
that it makes noise —
my mind is ticking,
my heart is ticking.
Everything quiet
is audible at 3 a.m.
—Terri Guillemets
Hiding from the sleep cops
I’ve had such bad insomnia the sleep cops have issued a warrant for my rest.
—Terri Guillemets
Insomniacaholic
I’m an insomniacaholic
if there is such a thing
well, I know there is —
I am one, and their king!
—Terri Guillemets