Start Thinking Again (Revised) Poem by Margaret Alice Second

A prescribed pill, I fall asleep yet wake up tired - it is
useless sleep; why should I be made to do it when it
leaves me more fatigued than upon going to bed

Never could easily fall asleep, all my life tossing and
turning; suddenly this wonder pill enables me to sleep
for eight unbroken hours - it seems like a boon

Yet I wake to this incessant yawning, eyes out of focus,
depressed feelings of dread, what use is any sleep at all
if it leaves the body all messed up so terribly?

Short naps during the day's what I need, never eight hours
in row; and given mounting dread of sitting in the office
not being able to hold my head erect, I MUST experiment

Find a regime that allows the body and brain to function
with optimum vitality... As soon as my brain clears I shall
be able to tackle any document that comes my way

Without feeling lost and confused - my mind presently is
blank and bruised, the explanation seems Tripilene is not
too good when taken frequently - as per prescription

The doctors meant well, kindly solved the central nervous
system problem of pain, lessening amounts of adrenaline
so I'm no longer the victim of the fight-or-flight reflex

But I'm too tired to do my job, too tired to sit in my chair!
As of tonight there'll be changes all round, it's ages since
I read a new book or reread old favourites, I want my brain

To wake up and start thinking again; living like a half-dead
zombie is no fun at all, without a functioning mind, all
conscious awareness is utterly useless!