Terror of the night
He stayed awake in terror
Of the dreams that might visit
If he slept and so each hour
Became familiar sadly.
Three in the morning
Merged with early dawn
And so the night was
Marked with failed attempts.
False dawns came and went
As relieving sleep escaped.
His worst fears magnified
In the silence and the solitude.
When dawn arrived exhausted he
Stumbled down the stairs
To find his favorite chair
And spend the day recouping.
Asleep by day, awake by night
He lived his life full back to front
Dozing through the morning
Alert and buzzing in the evening.
What baby fall, what early terror
Had turned his life upside down?
What bad luck had caused this state
So simple yet so terrible.
He tried the drugs
He tried the potions
He tried the bloody lot
Without success.
The more he tried
The worse it got
He tried not to try -
Anything to make it stop.
His mind a minefield
Where deadly ordnance lay
Unsure where to place a foot
Uncertain what to say
The doctors and consultants
Who achieved not a single thing
But to send out the bills
And reminders if required.
Til at last he met the special one
Half mother, sister, lover
Who had the magic touch
Who brought him peace and sleep.
Aged fifty five but better,
Better late than never
The past a blurry land
The future bright at last.
