Thursday, June 15, 2017

Of Insomnia and Sleep

"A little insomnia is not without its value in making us appreciate sleep, in throwing a ray of light upon that darkness." - Marcel Proust

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born 12 May 1828 in London. He divided his attention between painting and poetry and founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which sought to introduce new forms of thematic seriousness, high coloration, and attention to detail into contemporary British art. As I was reading some of Rossetti's poetry, I came across "Insomnia", a poem that completely blew me away.

Insomnia 


Thin are the night-skirts left behind 
By daybreak hours that onward creep, 
And thin, alas! the shred of sleep 
That wavers with the spirit's wind: 
But in half-dreams that shift and roll 
And still remember and forget, 
My soul this hour has drawn your soul 
A little nearer yet. 

Our lives, most dear, are never near, 
Our thoughts are never far apart, 
Though all that draws us heart to heart 
Seems fainter now and now more clear. 
To-night Love claims his full control, 
And with desire and with regret 
My soul this hour has drawn your soul 
A little nearer yet. 

Is there a home where heavy earth 
Melts to bright air that breathes no pain, 
Where water leaves no thirst again 
And springing fire is Love's new birth? 
If faith long bound to one true goal 
May there at length its hope beget, 
My soul that hour shall draw your soul 
For ever nearer yet.


Have you ever found yourself lying awake in bed at night, waiting for sleep to come, when your brain refuses to shut its mouth and thoughts of every angle and shape that plagues it? I have often found myself unable to sleep at night. There is just so much to do!

For today's challenge, I want you to write a poem about insomnia. Your poem doesn't necessarily have to be serious, it can be light-hearted too. Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred. I look forward to reading what you guys come up with.

The link doesn't expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem. Please do visit others and remember to comment on their poems. Have fun!

16 comments:

Kim M. Russell said...

I love this prompt, Sanaa! Insomnia is something I have written about quite often. I'm afraid my poem is brief as I have a busy day ahead of me - it's exam marking season and I don't want to get behind with my quota!

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Thank you so much, Kim!❤️ and you're first! Heading over to read you now❤️

Apologies for posting the prompt early. I must keep in mind and remember next time that it's 12pm Central Daylight Time (and not 12am)

Marian said...

Is this about insomnia? I'm so sleep-deprived I don't even know.

Gillena Cox said...

Thanks for a lovely prompt Sanaa; wishing everyone here a lovely day

much love...

Jim said...

This is a wonderful prompt poem and insomnia idea. It will be fun. But I too am very busy, at least this morning (and I am retired!!)
..

Anonymous said...

great find of a poem Sanaa and a topic dear to my heart though far from sleep

Kerry O'Connor said...

What a wonderful prompt, Sanaa. I love the artwork and the poem - one I haven't read before.
Insomnia and I are well acquainted, so I shall give this a whirl tomorrow.

Kerry O'Connor said...

PS. Many of our contributors prefer to post their challenges at 12.00 am. It's not a problem, especially given the different time zones for you and those in countries far to the west.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

@Kerry thank you so much❤️ I am so glad you liked the prompt! Ah.. then I will prefer to post at 12 AM CDT (it will be 12 PM in Kuala Lumpur then) and I ll be able to host yayy❤️

@Marian big hugs!❤️

@Gillena good to see you!❤️

@Jim I hope you can join us!❤️

@Laura thank you! good to see you❤️


Ah.. I just came home from work.. its 01:12am here.. phew! Looking forward to reading you all!❤️ I also posted!

Bekkie Sanchez said...

Glad I could join you this week for Thursday's write! I had to draw on the past as I learned how to sleep last year and now I sleep like a baby.

I hope everyone has a good week time is moving fast. I'll be around to read this weekend. Hugs!

Anonymous said...

ironically this landed in my email just now...3.55am here in KL...and I wide awake...perfect no?

Angie said...

Beautiful art and prompt to get my muse going. Thanks Sanaa:)

Sanaa Rizvi said...

@Bekkie its soo good to have you with us ❤️

@Paul welcome to K.L! Hope you're enjoying!❤️

@Angie I just loved your poem! *swooooon*❤️

Anonymous said...

my only contribution is to read

brudberg said...

Will write about this when a wake up,

Sanaa Rizvi said...

@Bjorn I'm looking forward to it ❤️

@Martin You're welcome anytime ❤️