sleepless from winter by A.S. Ember

sleepless in a winter of undying night,
a caffeinated exhaustion of heavy eyes
and racing mind – racing though its feet
have been taken from under it; it speeds in
the only way its lack of agency allows:
down. through a trackless endless night,
falling. i have stopped waiting for the
ground to rush up and meet me. i have
stopped hoping for something different.

sleepless in a nightmare of undying winter,
a distressed tiredness so profound it asks
if there is a living thing that does not sleep
(there isn’t, but i’m terribly envious of the
thought of it). if my body requires it, let it
be done – but even when i finally sleep it
will be purposeless; just the long recitation
of a spell of teleportation between points
in time. to be repeated again tomorrow.

• Spoken Word
• audiobook
• poetry
• readings
• story