COUNTDOWN

i have to get up early
but alas, i cannot sleep
my hands are filled with tremors
as the clock hands quickly sweep

i look into its evil face
my neck jammed up with cricks
it seems as if it's grinning
as it reads one fifty

SIX

why did i drink that coffee
what a foolish thing to do
i should have stopped at one cup
but decided to have two

it seemed like such a good idea
for i had far to drive
but now i'm driven crazy
as it reads two thirty

FIVE

i tried a bit of reading
other times, that's all it took
the words would run together
till my fingers dropped the book

but laying down my head
attempting sleep, perchance to snore
my slumber slips the knot
and i'm awake more than be-

FORE

i'm relaxing all my muscles
while i ponder soothing things
but can't receive the present
that the sandman often brings

they ask for whom the dawn bell tolls
i guess it tolls for me
is any time more vile
than thirteen minutes after

THREE

i wrestle with my blanket
and i cover up my face
the cool side of my pillow
i have just seemed to misplace

it seems that relaxation
is a concept , most untrue
my brain is full of needles
and my body feels it

TOO

i know that very soon
will come the time that i must rise
i'm seeing exclamation points
each time i close my eyes

the moonlight's shift is over
and the sun's shift has begun
i've lost a night of sleep here
and insomnia has

WON