Night Sweats

What hunger turns the hands through sleep

deprived nights hunting a rhyme

beyond the boundaries of mind and time,

mountain peaks treacherous and steep:

a head aches for the clean line

break, the ill-mannered thoughts won't scan

what heart and longing must align--

come morning, back where you began.

Ken e Bujold

©2022

Reviews

[Lisasview]

Hi Ken,
Oh my goodness, exactly how I have been feeling lately... Usually, I have absolutely no problems finding the right words for my poems but there are times, like now where I dream (or half dream) about rhyme..."deprived nights hunting a rhyme"...so love that line...hunting...is so so right!!
Loved your poem...
Lisa

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for review Lisa. And yes, all of us scribblers have known our share of night sweats. Though oddly enough, this poem popped into my head after a rather fantastic 8 hrs nap.

ken e

[Lisasview]

Well, exactly my point... I often get up and just write.
Like Innocence, Nymph and Tender...plus, more which were just written down...almost like someone else was writing them...my hand and pen moved along the page...and I had no idea where they was going....
Lisa, quite early here in Spain

[Chris Shaw]

You describe so well here, the tiresome hunt for the missing piece of a composition in poetry. All night thinking. Yep, I know it. I admire the description here. Fabulous.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you Chris. Hunting for lines is/should be considered a medical condition :)

[Chris Shaw]

Tell me if you find a cure :))

[JD Major]

Ah, yes, nights lost in the hunt of the "clean line."
... I think you nailed in Line 5!
JD

[Montag]

Very nice Ken. I'd like to know more about that hunger.

[Ken e Bujold]

the hunger is the beast that keeps you awake most of the night running a line over and over and over, searching for the perfect rhyme, rhythm, image, whatever it is that will lock it into place in the poem you simply have to write. It's a beast, but one I gladly wrestle with, because domesticity is life without purpose

[W. Barrett Munn]

Such a sophisticated piece of writing . I applaud your skill with unsuccessfully disguised envy.
Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

too kind my friend, and much appreciated. I can assure you I am similarly impressed with a great deal of your work as well

[Just Kim]

break, the ill-mannered thoughts won't scan

Love this line, this is wonderful, enjoyed your thoughts.

[Ken e Bujold]

glad you enjoyed the read Kim

[John]

A wonderful description of the tumultous creative process that needs to undertaken to produce a work of art.

[Ken e Bujold]

so true, and at my age John, sleep is a fickle mistress, so all too often I find the night sweats to be my natural condition. Glad you enjoyed the read
Ken e