When I'm Not Sleeping

A Poem by Claude

I used to be wary of pills.
They were for the sick, the broken.
Then one day I became broken.

My sickness is at a very microscopic level.
I take a little white pill once daily, a neuroprotector.
A few minor side effects.

And I noticed something ...
A side effect of not sleeping is thinking.
Thoughts, fully described in words run through my mind.

The world of partial sleep is void of harsh judgment or criticism.
Everything is plausible-a wonderful idea.
Many nights this pulls me from bed to a pen and paper.

The light of day censors some ideas.
The awake mind scratches out others.
But some make it through, thankfully.