1:01 am

If only I could string my thoughts along like pearls

And run them slowly through my hands

Contained and ordered

Shaped in glossy spheres

Complete.

If only I could thread them all in sequence

And slide them with a click one against the next

Instead of hearing them rattle

Loose and lost

In my head.

If only I could place the necklace

On a high, hidden shelf

And sleep long and unhindered

Deep and dreamless

Without the tumble of unfinished thoughts.

...

"In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat--

for he grants sleep to those he loves."

-Ps. 127:2