Melatonin or Cabernet

A poet struggles with sleep while facing an uncertain future.

Melatonin or Cabernet

 

 

Shrieking volume from the twelve inch

Endless commercial interruptions

Pets insisting on fresh air

As agitations stir

 

Already bewildered with stress

Magnified by insecurities and unfamiliarity

Can’t read, can’t sit, can’t stand to talk about it

There will be no sleep tonight

 

Huddling unstill on cold steel porch chairs

Contemplating, dreading, assuming

The next day’s friendly confrontation

Towards an unforeseeable future

 

So many people have so much power

Over my life

So many laws govern the edges

Of my insomnia

Often times the only savior

Is a sip of red

Or three grams of white

 

Half an hour in front of the alphabet

Fragmenting emotions into sentences

Takes the edge off the edge

And clears the cot

 

The day winds up like a turbine for sixteen hours

How can we expect it to crash so quickly?

Yet the covers beckon and the eyes cloud

The chemicals have won

 

 

Learn more about Alex Hutchinson at:

www.SuburbanFiction.com

 

Author's Note

This poem is for an upcoming collection. Any comments might be used as advanced praise.

Reviews

[Mike Carson]

So many people have so much power

Over my life

So many laws govern the edges

Of my insomnia

I am finding this very much to my liking Alex...a parable for the modern age...especially with the close:

The chemicals have won

Very nice indeed! I have a link here you might want to take a look at...a partial list of my grandfather's writings...I just found it.

http://kitcarson.multiply.com/journal/item/264/From_The_Library_Of_Congress

[emmajoy]

Incredible words, incredible meaning, incredible whole. You began at the beginning and built up a tapestry of thoughts, opinions and more. The form of the poem is fine, the ending is satisfying in its way, maybe not unexpected! 'So many laws govern the edges of my insomnia' - what a phrase! A truly fine piece of work.

[princessorianna]

wow...this really got me. so many of "them" trying to control "us"...and being able to use that and take it out on paper...very well done. and i love the imagery of the "cold steel porch chairs." i could really see them.

[Rambling Prose]

This piece prompted the chambers of my imagination to open freely - immediately. The title, in and of itself, is compelling and (with ease) beckons the reader to toss and turn through this journey of sleeplessness. I love your style: it's picturesque as well as captivating and your word choices are phenomenal. If only insomnia were as intriguingly inviting as this write.

In any case - there's always Cabernet...

[Mistral Bilgera]

wow! i love this poem... reminds me of Robert Lowell's "The Drinker"!!

[EvesDaughter]

I have to smile when I read your work...
it is intelligent, again, quirky, and I think
I identify with it more than is healthy ;)

[Damian Alan Gray]

When all you want is to escape the stark realities of the world, don't you just hate the Big Come Down? Great piece of work. I really enjoyed your insight.

[Yvonne Heidt]

This piece made me completely uncomfortable in my own skin. Brought me back and I could see myself here.



So many laws govern the edges
Of my insomnia
Often times the only savior
Is a sip of red
Or three grams of white...

Excellent writing will do that to me! Great job.

[L.G. Knight]

Very Well Done! I like it lots thanks for entering it in my sleepless night contest...

[Mercury Mirrors]

Nice. I never really got or liked unrhymed poems but this is awesome. Pefectly discribes my feelings today as well. Good work.

[Dominick]

Very clever piece of work. Some very interesting lines in here. "Takes the edge off the edge" Something a lot of us (more then willing to admit) can relate to. "Often times the only savior Is a sip of red Or three grams of white" Or sometime alittle of both mixed with whatever that stuff from last week was. Im not sure of the predicted outcomes for this piece that were intended but I found it somewhat comical. But I have a very sick sense of humor and the part that is most amusing is how real it could be.