We have now entered the birds-chirping-all-night season.
—Terri Guillemets
sleep
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,
Exhaustion: A Poem
Exhausted. 🥴
—Terri Guillemets
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
My intentions
I will get a great night’s sleep. I will wake up refreshed and ready for a serene and productive day. I am happy. I have energy. I am energy. I am brave. I respect life and nature, and I respect my body and mind.
—Terri Guillemets
Recovering in bed
The best substitute for coffee is a good night’s sleep.
—Terri Guillemets
A day without a nap
A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.
—Terri Guillemets
Loudness in the 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
Silent morning perfectly unarranged
Cats are sleeping art.
—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