Riding High On Insomnia ' Poem by indira babbellapati

And on nights
When panic strikes
And sleep eludes
Even the slightest sound
Conjures to descend
On the unsettling nerves
The indiscernible depth in the belly
Expands to gorge on the self

And on nights
When panic strikes
And sleep eludes
Moving from room to room
Darkness dispels at a click
And follows at another click
To stay put within
Awaiting another ‘click’

And on nights
When panic strikes
And sleep eludes
The emptiness drowned in vain in long gulps
Stretches its tentacles to grip
The body in greed as if
A hungry tide on a dark sea
On a fateful night

And on nights
When panic strikes
And sleep eludes
Panic and sleep connive
To beat life out of the outer shell
And to throw the inner out of its gear


(24 May 2011)