SLEEP

It's so exquisitely pleasurable,
that seductive sleep
that creeps into your consciousness
like a narcotic.
Unfortunately,
it usually happens when you can't appreciate it.
One of its favorite times, for example,
is during a business meeting.
You're sitting there perfectly alert
when out of nowhere
comes that slight dizziness behind your eyes
and before you know it,
your thoughts are floating off
on a fluff of cotton candy.
Or you're sitting in the theater
in your fifty-dollar seat,
trying to focus on the stage.
You feel the subtle sensation
as your brain begins to go limp,
melting into that syrupy, semi-conscious state.
Your lids are heavy,
your chin is sinking downward,
you're sliding into submission. . .
then boom!
your head jerks upright
and you're in that awful desperate
struggle to stay awake.
This is perverse.
Where is that sleep when we could
really delight in its deliriums?
The closest I've come to harnessing
this powerful natural phenomenon
is late-night television.
But this can be dangerous.
Every once in a while they fool you
and put on something that catches your fancy,
and instead of drifting sweetly off to sleep,
you're up until 3 A.M.
And then the next day,
you're sitting in a business meeting,
when out of nowhere
comes that
slight dizziness
behind your eyes. . .


© Ellen Azorin