For those who cannot sleep
Expressions of the effects of inner injustice grow on me like graffiti on freshly painted walls in ghettos.
The poor do not sleep so long as we do. The knock of the wind under the door is a notification from the debtors of the day reminding weary souls that even peaceful sleep is a luxury sold at a steep price in the midst of moral recession. The dying breath of the poor sleeper who is neighborhoods away from our evening cove, is drowned out by bedtime stories invented to make enough noise to create a semblance to silence. He who you do not see or hear, not for blurred vision or hardness of hearing, but for blatant blindness and softness of will. For lack of desire to participate in distant misery. You did not see. But friends you have erred and misread our position. His misery is yours and whether or not you see it, it perverts the air you breathe so you will not sleep so well without the gas mask of some toxic medication. Found at the bottom of hallow bottles of gin or prescription pills or indeed underneath sheets where empty souls consecrate a marriage to nothing but perverse and co-modified sexuality. Medicate and numb yourself as much as your frail body can endure, shattered heart can suppress, and aloof mind can rationalize, but know this: until the sleeper finds a warm spot on the concrete to shut his eyes you will remain awake with your eyes closed. Asleep with eyes wide open.
Comments
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MVP-Most Valuable Poet
thank you for sharing this poem
it does a great job in reflecting a reality of homelessness, as well as people
who suffer depression where medication is their savior
this poem does a great job in describing the gritty hardships of any individual who doesn't have a home or have nothing to live for
this poem does an amazing job in bringing this reality to life
keep writing and build off your ideas further
NikkiM
There's so much to admire in this poem, little gems throughout that show a real attention to language:
--the metaphor of the wind under the door as a debtor -- great!
--nice internal rhyme of sleep/steep
--"You do not see." Nice clipped sentence among the more complex sentences.
The subject is a worthy one, indeed, and quite a lot to tackle, but you did it justice.
Small cuts can make the language even tighter, and I noticed some cuts between the written poem and your video (which was great, by the way). Consider cutting the "out" from "drowned out" -- it means the same thing with the cut. Little compressions of language like this enhance poetry.
Congrats on a good poem. Keep going!
Imani Sophia
Wow, brilliant poem. I appriciate reading it as well as hearing your voice. It blended well and was a very real and true poem
Justot
Almost a year late on hearing this, but it was a very great poem. Such beautiful voice to bring out the mood and tone of it. Truly a wonderful poem.
Victoria B.
You are not to know the way that this poem speaks to me.
When I hear the screams from inside me
This poem brought me to life and released my cries
And gave me a concrete blanket where I can dry my eyes
Write Right
Amazing and haunting. Great poem and video!
imafagbejelly98
Simply amazing.
ValanThia VV
AMAZING POEM
MayFlower711
This is beautifully honest, thank you for writing this.
I hope you hit 1,000 reads!
vibhukrishna
this is just beautiful! thank you for making this.