Insomnia,
thou art my bedfellow.
You joust to slay my sleep,
pummel me with dire near-dozing dreams.
I succumb,
not to rest, but to rise instead.
Darkness turns light,
switch slapped by frustrated hand.
Insomnia,
thou art the victor
and I,
your bleary-eyed spoils.
I’m hosting Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. The prompt word is “spoil” – or any form of the word. Quadrille: a poem of exactly 44 words, sans title. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time – come join us! Image from Pixabay.com
Oh, I feel so sorry for you if this written for 1st-hand experience. I had a small dose of it once, and wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am occasionally hit with this….and this poem was written at some ungodly hour when I was indeed jousting with a restless knight! My heart goes out to people who have this continually – it sure affects how you meet the next day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You capture it well, that nightly (knightly) jousting. “switch slapped by frustrated hand” – oh yeah!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed…..oh yeah! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I usually have no difficulties falling asleep… but often I wake at 5 AM… insomnia is not a victor you want in your house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve got that right! Insomnia, be gone!
LikeLike
I’m the same as Bjorn – no trouble falling asleep – I’m usually out like a light – but any tiem from about 4.30 to 6 am I’m awake and can’t get back to sleep, I like the description of insomnia jousting and pummeling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
When it strikes, I do feel like I’m jousting with it! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Know the feeling.
LikeLike
😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, insomnia, I know you well. You capture the frustration very well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is frustrating, right? Doesn’t happen to me too often…but when it does I toss and turn and the jousting is on!
LikeLike
What a fun take on insomnia. I have suffered from it for years often getting about 4 hours of sleep per night. I wish I could pummel my insomnia!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Think of it as your knight in shining armor visiting you….alas, unwanted guest as he is! Glad you enjoyed my post!
LikeLike
Hi Lillian, Rob Kistner here. Please forgive my contacting you this way, but I didn’t know how else to let you know I messed up #14 on MisterLinky today. I was enter my link and accidentally entered the url where my name should have been. To make matters worse, it links to the wrong poem. I corrected it on #15 of MisterLinky, so if you would be so gracious as to remove #14, my blunder will be eliminated. I am so very sorry for my mess up Lillian… 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not to worry, Rob. As you’ll see by my comments on both posts, I enjoyed both of them…but did delete the one that was not a quadrille. So – it’s all taken care of. And glad you posted here!
PS: No problem at all…so no need for apologies. Just glad you enjoyed the prompt and posted to it! 🙂
LikeLike
Loved your poem here Lillian, great frustration in the write! Unfortunately, I can relate. I am, and have been an insomniac for 7 years… 😐
LikeLiked by 1 person
ohhhhh….Insomnia, thy alias is Evil One! It does strike me every once in a while….and then I pay for it dearly the next day. 7 years of it? You have my deepest concern…..ugh.
LikeLike
Part of my life now. I take so many meds for my heart failure, HBP, diabetese, depression, and neuropathy that my sleep patterns are a disaster. I do get exhausted after several days, the crash usually lasts for 12+ hours. Ambian does nothing for me. But hey, I get a lot of writing done…
LikeLike
Such gorgeous phrasing in this one, Lillian ❤️ Especially like; “Bleary-eyed spoils” an apt description for us late night owls 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes….night owls by choice or by jousting with Insomnia!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My sympathies, you’ve captured what this is like perfectly. I don’t know if I just dream a lot, but the line ‘dire near dozing dreams’ really struck a chord. Whenever I’m under the weather, I find it tricky to fall asleep fully, instead I sleep in fits and starts where I’m often half away, but dreaming at the same time. Very odd and very off putting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly! You’ve expressed it well….and those near dozing dreams can be real doozies…ones you want to escape from!
LikeLike
Insomnia is nobody’s friend; I have it once in awhile–but a few months ago, while being depressed by my ill health, and being housebound, I had a bout that lasted for a month straight. I started hallucinating before getting some meds to snap me out of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes…..insomnia plays havoc with the mind. Sleep is definitely a necessessity to a healthy mind.
LikeLike
very apt description of one’s battles with that foul prince who spoils sleep
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOVE your comment here! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whether yours or your poetic voice’s bane, it rings so universally that it matters not. A sleepless knight. A night of sleeplessness. Great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Charley. Just every once in a while this happens to me….and it did the night I wrote this post! Glad you enjoyed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed it and have lived it. My insomnia isn’t often so action-packed. Port helps sometimes.
LikeLike
Gallant word choices for your ‘knight’ who rescues not! Love the impact of the slapped switch – that one rings so terribly true. Painfully fun read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed, Jilly. Feels good to be writing again…was MIA for a bit but I think the creative muse sometimes needs to sleep as well! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
My muse has taken an extended leave of absence!
LikeLike
Nice line: “pummel me with dire near-dozing dreams.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Frank. Tried to get the pummeling sign in the repetition of the “d” sound. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great. Love that use of spoils, and how spoiled your day ahead. The night-errant metaphor worked well! Hope you can get a knight”s sleep! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes….much rather have my spouse of 49 years be the only knight in my night! 🙂
LikeLike
So wonderfully written!! I have been there myself.. especially slapping the light switch… although quietly so as to not wake others including the dog! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hah! Glad you enjoyed. This only happens occasionally…but it can truly be frustrating and when I finally give in to that knight I’m jousting with, I do turn out the lights with a bit of venom in my mind! 🙂
LikeLike
What a rogue knight Insomnia is indeed. This is a delightful work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rogue knight indeed! Much rather have my spouse of 49 years be the only knight in my bed at night! 🙂
LikeLike
This is a lot of fun…right down to the bleary eyed spoils! JIM
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
LikeLike
I think insomnia is two sided, one is sleep deprivation and not being very creative, the other is being focused and doing a lot of work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree…..sometimes one can get a lot of work or writing or tasks done in the middle of the night when there are no interruption….but the bleary eyes are still the result the next day…and a muddled mind….at least for me.
LikeLike
Lillian, are you accepting the poems that are over the 44 word limit for a quadrille? Just curious. I have commented that these poems do not meet the criteria for the 44 word limit
LikeLike
No. I’ve written a reply to two that appeared yesterday (Tuesday), telling them why they were being deleted and inviting them to write another one that meets the criteria. Both apologized and one already did a second; the other is submitting another today (Wednesday). That said, I haven’t counted every word – but you can usually tell. I can go back and count each one – suppose I should. In the past, have also nicely deleted (after explaining why and inviting another), for not including prompt word etc.
LikeLike
A good antidote is to count sheep, for some reason I always am asleep just as I get to 44th lil lambkin… sleep 💤
Excellent poem, vivid and true. Excellent prompt too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that adage of counting sheep….for me, when Insomnia strikes (which is rarely — but it does happen), all that happens when I do that is that the sheep Baaaa loudly and some clumsy ones trip over the fence they’re trying to leap over!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dern undulating ungulates!
LikeLike
I like the wordplay and other poetic jousting in this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Janice. The first rendition of this in my journal had no word play….my editing and looking more closely, yep – in the middle of the night – made the knight come about! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It must be the shining armour that eludes our sleep. I relate so well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. Sir Insomnia comes rarely here…but when he does, it is truly frustrating!
LikeLike
Oh so true! I too have had many a battle with insomnia. What a great poem Lillian! 🙂💕 Zzzzzz
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed! Love that zzzzzzzz……..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perfectly captured in 44 words, I know this all too well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep — first rendition of this post was written….you guessed it…in the middle of the night. Two days later, went back to my journal and my very scraggly handwriting, and rewrote to add the knight and some jousting too! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, those nights spend’s tossing and turning- well done Lillian!
LikeLike
Girl, I feel this.
LikeLike
oh those dire, near dozing, dreams -that’s about when I bag it and get up. Perfect description and nice alliteration too!
LikeLike
Insomnia isn’t just about the biggest thief to a night! Well penned!
LikeLike
insomnia is a big spoiler of well laid plans to sleep – good one Lillian!
LikeLike
Welcome to my world. Thank you for the prompt, It gave me something to do all night while the rest of the world is sleeping…..
LikeLike
This is great! It speaks so clearly of the life I am living these days. Trying to sleep is just a waste of time, for a multitude of reasons. I feel like a zombie, yawning through life.
Thanks for sharing such a great quadrille!
Have a blessed weekend.
LikeLike
Like the direction you took, Lillian. I have so many friends that suffer from this.
LikeLike