Light Sleeper / Aka Recovery
I wake cold turkey like clockwork
to the sound of your car in the driveway
Solitude is the fix I want to be alone with
but I fear the confinement
and my tolerance for abandonment is low
I try not to think about
the clutter in the basement
or the rain washing foundations away
I recreate my life like a puzzle
Is everyone safe in their place?
I count the hours I’ve slept
like an addict counts pills
and then loses track
Sometimes I fall back to sleep
and imagine I’ll never wake up
or stare out the window
at the tree losing leaves
until an urge begins to take shape
An unexpected poem
like a dream just recalled
is an escape route
that gets my attention
It’s the secret life I depend on
and the recovery I faithfully follow
It’s the mystery I always
want to solve
_______Colleen Redman / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads – edited on 12/31/15
November 2nd, 2015 9:22 pm
nice, colleen, captures the feeling exactly. And oh the joy of the found poem =)
November 3rd, 2015 9:09 am
Beautiful and so real for me as well. Nicely written.
November 3rd, 2015 10:39 am
Oh yes the joy of an unexpected poem…
November 3rd, 2015 11:00 am
I like the way you introduced a change of mood in the final stanza, which shows the power of poetry.
November 3rd, 2015 3:30 pm
I’ve never seen a found poem this fluid!
November 3rd, 2015 4:58 pm
Oh those moments … when syllables just seem to come from thin air… The best of reason to be a light sleeper.
November 3rd, 2015 5:16 pm
Oh how I relate to these words – the lure of solitude, the fear of being lost in its embrace……the counting of hours slept “like an addict counts pills”…….and then the “unexpected poem”…..the secret life “that proves it’s worth living”. Oh, yes! I so often say it is my online poetry life that sustains me………
November 3rd, 2015 9:24 pm
I, too love the allure and reality-you blurred the lines and woke me up!
November 3rd, 2015 9:45 pm
An unexpected poem. Yeah, I could use me one of them babies, awright.
November 3rd, 2015 10:45 pm
I really like the lines about the puzzle and the question if everyone is safe in their place. Thanks for sharing.
November 5th, 2015 12:05 am
[…] 12. I try not to think about / the clutter in the basement / or the rain washing foundations away / I recreate my life like puzzle / Is everyone safe in their place? – More from my newest poem “Light Sleeper” HERE. […]