How To Sleep:

buy the largest bottle of whiskey you can afford

don't drink it.

take it out of the cupboard

then rebury it behind the potting soil.

take your sleeping medication as prescribed

fight it all night long

wake up in a fog so thick that you can't see your hands on the wheel of your car

wake up at work half way through your shift

push back the pain

push back the suffering

just five more hours

just three more days.

stare at the images that try to form behind your eyelids

and be consciously aware that

something is not right

something is wrong

the room is spinning

and the colors are too bright for the pitch black of night

there's an animal dying outside your window

but you don't live in that house anymore

and the only animals outside your windows now

are those squirrels that the neighbors keep feeding.

stare at the clock

four minutes have passed

close your eyes.

take a deep breath.

sleep.

there's something dying out there.