Today has been: waking up;
Cold-sweat seeping into damp sheets;
Dreadful dreams disquieting dreaded days;
Tension tightening the chest;
Knots—
Not knowing how to get them to stop—
Nauseous gasps of noxious air;
Nagging nerves on notice;
The livewire on the knife’s edge;
A jolting current carried continuously;
Tingles torturing the tormented
Taken through the terrible trenches of inner war—
A spiritual skirmish
Manifested by a linguistic lash—
A voraciously verbal visitant haunting
Boring itself into a battered, berated soul;
And tomorrow, should sleep spare:
It starts all over again.
© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: April 14th, 2025 06:45
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 21
- Users favorite of this poem: Cheeky Missy, Poetic Licence, KTay
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Comments10
Very realistic and so relatable 🙏🏻🕊️
Thank you so much. I should also say, sorry it is relatable. That said, at least we aren't alone and, funny thing is, your poem today sort of/kind of connected with this...because if sleep shouldn't spare, I am usually up dancing with the muse at the witching hour. 🤣 Much appreciated, my friend! 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
Imagine if there wasn’t that… the nights would be so intolerable 🙏🏻🕊️
Truth! They would be brutal, my friend! Terribly brutal! Indeed! There is something to rejoice over! 😉
🤩🎇🌃🎆
Nightmares have been my fare waking and sleeping for over a decade until I cannot bear the seeming good wishes of souls who tell me "sweet dreams!" since I know too well such do not exist for me. And now, after a nightmare which left me in terror, what?! but you must ink it out on the main page????! What is happening?! Superbly rendered with not only excellent imagery but also that delicious skill utilizing consonance and methinks assonance, the haunting poignancy throttles the reader until who shall escape? Thank you for sharing. What on earth is...today?
🤣 Thank you my friend. Sorry for inking your sleeping/waking hell, but at least we\'re not alone with sleep troubles. And when my anxiety is like this, the nightmares are endless...so even sleep is not really sleep, let alone restful. All of that to say, I feel your pain and pray for more restful nights for you, my friend. That said, I am super stoked you could relate and am glad the poem delivered. Your time and your wonderful analysis are most appreciated...always! 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
Sorry you're stuck with the same misery.
I've had a couple of paralysing dreams last week.
Unusable for me to have that sort of thing, what's happening?
Good question. Sorry to hear that my friend. Yeah, last week my dreams were the worst...when I could sleep. It wasn't until yesterday that my nerves got back down to normal. My dreams were all anxiety related (or so I think)...but man, glad they're gone. Thank you so much for reading and relating to the poem. Your time and thoughts are very much appreciated. 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
It's always a pleasure. I refuse to play with this cloudfare whatever? So it's hard for me to log on these days, but, hear I am!
I love the poets.
Yay! Glad you are here. 😊
I'm in, again. They certainty make a game of it, chasing buttons around the screen, trying to avoid hitting Microsoft!
They haven't beaten me though, I am persistent.
Ah. Those Captcha thingies. So annoying. I hear you. Yes, they make a game of it for sure. Glad you outwitted them, my friend!
Here anxiety reins. For years suffered from bouts of anxiety some stimulus related. As a poet have tried to capture it in words that are never adequate. You have done well to image many of the symptoms but in this poem I see not just nightmares but day ones too. A life that we wake to each time we get into and out of bed. Anxiety a type of emotional pain draws all focus to it eliminating our view of the world around us. I like how you use alliteration to accentuate this obsessive focus. It is an autonomic process and your use of jolting current, tingling, cold sweat, knots all such involuntary processes works so well. It is indeed a war between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Well worked out this poem delivers to any that have suffered such. Very nicely done Tristan
Thank you so much, Soren! Indeed—you have so closely read and understood this poem, my dear friend. You're absolutely right: the nightmares and restless dreams are only part of the equation, merely a continuation of the hell experienced during waking hours. I'm really glad to hear that this poem delivered in capturing that, as that was exactly what I was attempting. In fact, "should sleep spare" were practically the last words I wrote—and I decided to use them as the title to draw people into the waking reality of anxiety. Again, thank you so much, my friend. Your time and interpretation are deeply appreciated! 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
Excellent write Tristan
Thank you so much, Tony! Much appreciated, my friend. 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
You're welcome
All I can say is it is so relatable, this is my life and its never ending, nicely expressed and written
Yes. Mine too. Sorry to hear that, my friend. Well, at least we can poetically commiserate here! Thank you so much for your time, your thoughtful engagement, and your understanding, Tobani! Much appreciated! 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
You are very welcome
This is one of my faves! Great piece!
Wow! Thank you so much, KTay. I am truly humbled and glad the poem resonated and is one of your faves. Your time and your feedback are always appreciated! 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
Things playing on our minds; sometimes can get to point of obsessions. I can see you don't write 'dark' just for the sake of it, not to promote darkness, horror, etc. Peace of mind to you.
Indeed, my friend. For me, writing like this isn’t about glorifying the darkness—it’s about releasing it. A way of letting go of what festers inside and, hopefully, offering a little hope or solidarity to anyone who’s been caught in that same dark cycle. In doing that, I hope to spread a little light, ironically. Thank you again, my friend, for your time and your deep insight. Very much appreciated, Orchi. Peace of mind to you, as well. 😵💫🩻⚡🫁🙏
Fido says to me - since when did you have deep insight? Or rather, KP said it to me, as she insults me, and not Fido! lol.
LOL! That KP!
Sleep is that cheeky thing that will grasp your wrist tight during the day when you need to be awake, and will abandon you at night! Well expressed!
You nailed that! 💯 I truly is! Thank you so much, my friend! Much appreciated! 🌹👏
Certainly!
Wow. You bring this to vivid life.
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