I felt white wings like cobwebs on my face

Lace butterflies and moths moving near

And turned against the pillow.

I saw that it was moonlight

Seeping in between the shades

Bringing in past nights to crawl around my sleep.

The strains of a thin song are coming from the corner of my room.

I cannot remember how it goes

But the wire tones pain my ears

And bring points of memory spark into my sight

I hear the rumbled murmur of voices saying many things at once.

Where is my sleep?

Somewhere in the dark, beneath my pillow

Underneath the blanket, where it’s too warm to breathe

The minute hours of morning stir troubled

Moving back into nausea from a short black relief

The pain turns real and holds my head against the bed.

It throbs with every scream from some sympathetic voice

Locked in the underpart of thought.

Out in the world where men walk back to work from suburban bedrooms

And a million uniforms push buttons to move the city’s hands.

A clock ticks neatly to keep everyone on time

If I were anyone I’d throw that thing into the street before it rings

Instead I’ll lie here and swell my eyes

With tears I should have cried before,

Touching the empty place beside me,

Wishing with all my heart I had.