The Bewitching Hour

I toss and turn in bed but cannot fall a sleep,

my back aches and bones feel like heavy bricks

the noisy bedroom fan blows aggressively,

and I feel as though I’m suffocating from the stale air

my mind wanders as I think about all the things that I'd like to do,

I imagine myself thinner, more successful and financially secure;

but self-doubts seep in like poison and cloud my own perception

I feel a drop of sweat drip down my back and my heartrate increases,

there are strange noises outside that make me wonder what time it is

I roll over and catch some dark shadows in the corner of my eye,

my imagination runs wild, and I feel like a frightened moon child

I scratch from the itch of cheap cotton sheets and my lips are dry with thirst,

memories play like a slide show that floods my brain with a tidal wave;

As I get swept away and slowly drift off to sea.