You Knew
Posted on: 7 February 2007
- In: poetry
- 6 Comments
Sleep: Salvador Dali ~ 1937
Slumber, my welcome friend eluded me
In the silent blackness of the night
Alone, shocked, surprised
My thoughts wandered to you
Intoxicating these thoughts be
I swore, I swore you were real
For in the dark radiance glowed
Perception of the flicker of your smiling lips
And the flash, the fix of your knowing eyes
Yet
In flesh we had never met
I marked you by your voice, your words
Their tenor, their rhythm
Their unerring wisdom
I took as read your warmth and comfort
You being the hero of my imaginings
Yet in truth your mission was of another kind
As awareness dawned on my soporific mind
Your cruel, your brutal intent
I struggled with all my strength
My power, my might
I fought this battle
Scratching, kicking, biting
I fought and fought
You let me
You fought not back
You knew
You knew in time I would submit
Surrender myself; yield body and soul
Concede defeat
You knew
You knew the need in me
More than I could ever comprehend or see
Under your hand the burden lightened
Relief, oh blessed release
Your mission, your calling, your intent
Was an act of compassion and love
To beget nirvana, peace, and sacred sleep
copyright 2007 ann raven
6 Responses to "You Knew"
2 | sage
7 February 2007 at 20:10
this piece is awesome…spoke volumes; I must admit I could relate, since my husband died last month sleep has eluded me, as well. I sense it will get better, I pray…thanks so much for sharing this, another winner!
hugs,
sage
3 | ann
7 February 2007 at 21:46
JP: thank you, and peace and good health to you
sage: I pray things get better for you soon…
lotsa luv ann xxxx
4 | GeL (Emerald Eyes)
8 February 2007 at 10:45
(Well, my fault the other night for not verifying a few times, so Blogger butthead would post my comment).
I’m entranced by your poetry, even if I wasn’t an insomniac.
I used to not like Dali’s work when I was a teen, but I’ve grown into it.
Your style of repetition that I’ve seen you use, like “I swore, I swore” and “I fought and fought” lends the appropriate emphasis to your splendid verse, without overkill.
5 | Brian
8 February 2007 at 11:59
I have struggled mightily to sleep this week with little success.
Love you
at home with ann 
7 February 2007 at 18:55
Intense piece ~ it truly spoke to me. Much peace, JP