Fortitude Poem by Phillip Erb

Sky spread thin and sleep hides again
Its vague and fleeting face
“Sleep, ” I call her aloud but there is nothing
Crouched behind black oak trees but my echo
“Sleep, ” I call again, frustrated and hot,
My thirst grows, I drink and swallow, swallow
What manner of mean drink leaves me thirstier than we met?

As the winds change
Over time comes rain
Above all the clouds
I sky looks the same

It’s easy to kill the pain
If sleeping could last night and day
And butterflies it brings to me could stay
So this head of mine would not spin and ache

I suppose that I could write you if I thought it would do some good,
Sometimes, I think should regardless
For uncertain flames are licking the chair
Developing a taste for rotten hickory
Wiping sweat from my eyes I think
I need to laugh more
Stop knocking at the doors of frozen hearts never home
Put off a few more chores and let time settle its score

Winds always change
Inside the storm clouds
I’ll be waiting, just the same

If by then I can’t sleep then you know
It’s only me slipping underneath the sheet
Where peace builds homes
And the air can release me from
This disease