Sparrow Nights: Russian name for sleepless nights with bad dreams
~ David Gilmour “The Perfect Order of Things”   
 
Sleep beckons with adamant yawns of lassitude,
whilst a restive voice drones on.
Mumbling pebbles
 skipping across a placid lake,
mirrors a
meandering mind in motion,
spawning ripples
on a surface simply seeking stillness;
request denied.  
 
My attention
a bewildered ape
swinging aimlessly through
this subconscious jungle
branch to branch,
thought to thought,
no destination
other than
tumult.  
 
Stapled betwixt two spheres
writhing in wakefulness,
somnambulism
in a neutered world
of fear personified,
diabolical dilemmas,
quandaries of questions
 rebuking answers,
in these sparrow nights.
 
 
Copyright © Henri Ferguson 2012 all rights reserved
 
Author Notes
Life stress acknowledged or otherwise is the caffeine in the world of sleep. It never ceases to amaze me how we can busy our convoluted lives to the extent that we obliterate presence and mindfulness with stuff. Doing stuff, planning stuff, avoiding stuff, praying for stuff ad nauseam. I often remind my yoga students that “I teach what I need to learn”, this a fine example of that. As well this would be one of the many conversations that play out in my hamster wheel mind on those sparrow nights.