Sleep

Today’s poem was for the November 2017 poem a day prompt of “Self-Destruct.” It feels timely today for two reasons. First, I spent a LOT of time sleeping this week; a bad cold (not coronavirus, I swear!) knocked me out of commission for a while. Second, it’s Daylight Savings Time, and what better way to honor losing an hour of precious, beautiful sleep than by publishing a sonnet about how it’s important to the body’s functioning?

Sleep

Originally written November 5, 2017

The human brain is marvelously made,
With more proteins than people on the earth—
Already complex, even before birth—
One neuron fires—Countless commands, obeyed.
All this to let us eat and smile and walk
And dance and maybe write some poetry
And invent things (like the economy).
But, when tired, I can barely even talk.
For every tool requires maintenance,
And rest was given, not for God, but man.
And though the scientists don’t understand,
Our brain needs sleep for its replenishment.
The one who writes our names down in his book
Gave to us sleep so we don’t self-destruct.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash