I lie awake the endless night
And try to sleep without success,
My breathing comes so haltingly
I find myself in deep distress.

The night-time seems eternity
Barely broken by my dreamless sleep,
Night creatures fill my worried mind
As round the house my cats do creep.

I feel fatigued all through the day
Yet in the night I lie awake,
Although I drowse from time to time
My great weariness cannot be slaked.

The clock torments with endless ticking
Yet the alarm will not resound,
Although I lie awake an eternity
The daylight will not come around.

The night is like a creeping death
The Lord has sent to torment me,
My blindness lasts eleven hours
Then with a new day I can see.

I cling to daylight futilely
In hope of keeping away the night,
But all too soon I’m on my back
A victim again of my weary plight.

(c) Copyright 2011

Philip Roberts, Melbourne, Australia