Sleep

A child who would not go to sleep

And here his Dad takes on the role
of sitting up with him all through the night

He had him curled up on his lap
in an armchair in the kitchen

At the time it seemed to him
that this torment and ordeal
would never end

But now when he looks back
he sees so well

How these long silent patient hours
spent together with his child were in fact
the most precious hours of his life

-

Counting my toes
on each foot
in turn

Starting with the left foot

First the big toe on my left foot
then the big toe on my right foot

Then the next toe

Then the next foot
and so on

Then back again
starting with the smallest toe

And then again
but this time starting with the right foot

And so it goes

Trying different ways
to exhaust all possible alternatives
to explore every permutation and paradigm

In this hopeless endless task I set myself
to seek out and achieve a final balance

To find fairness and symmetry

And then at last to go to sleep