when it came time for sleep
he had already accepted
that it wouldn't be a sweet dream
for there was never a night
in which he slept sweetly
in which his eyes didn't sting
in which his body didn't throb
in which he wasn't a zombie
he hates to be awake
he wants to be asleep
In the heap of a mess
the young man rests
his back against the box spring mattress
underneath the dreary light
of a circular ceiling orb
intricately measured to be equally hung
centered between the four walls
enclosing around him
the small, box-like room
a little room crowded with too many things
full of everything
littered amongst the carpet
there is books
there is paintings
there is wrappers and trash
things are stacked and things are hanging
they're placed and leaning on edges
things are covered
and hidden
and tottering on ledges
and eight or nine blankets
are piled atop one another
heavy on himself, on his bed
falling onto the floor
like a nest of distraction and
bullshit
and shadows
there are things invisible he can't see
there is always the fear
they hide in the darkness
and are hard not to run into
There is a concentration
to the paranoia
and he maneuvers about the stuffed space
like he's looking for that something unseen
Don't let everything fall!
like a plea
he is trudging on through
and heaving and slumping
what used to feel safe
like hearth
but now feels engulfed in ice
Don't let it all come collapsing down!
He won't be able to do this much longer
to dance around all of the unseeable darkness
that smells artificially sweet
and burnt
because of the flickering wicks
he has three candles lit
YOU ARE READING
Melancholic & Other Poems
Thơ ca"Melancholic and Other Poems" is a powerful debut collection by Nicholas Kyle Edwards that invites readers into a profound exploration of the complexities of mental health, particularly as experienced by adolescents. Through a strikingly unique free...
