Restless

Invisible puppeteers viciously command
Legs wrapped in birds nest shackles
Choking off quivering muscles while
Pins and needles stab incessantly.

Head tosses back and forth
Aimlessly like a battered boat
On a torrential sea with no sails;
Cabin doors slamming in ghostly rhythm.

Faces in the ceiling bewitch the mind,
Demons and angels battle over dreamscape.
Infinite pupils seek shadowy dancers in periphery
Of eyes dusted with sleep; dry, scratched and tired.

Whispered steps on creaking floors,
The starting-gun for a racing heart
Propelling a restless soul into a
Contest of mind over mentality.

Images on drooping, quivering eyelids
Play like silent nickelodeons with
Ghostly angelic figures awash in light
Blurred like headlights in coastal fog.

Scattered dreams like broken puzzles
Chase faceless figures over characterless
Settings, hither and nigh, till
A leap of faith leaves body crumpled on bed.

Heartbeats echo against wired drums
Like muffled messages across a jungle expanse
A portent of insane charges by
Wild-eyed warriors intent on mayhem.

Claws on hardwood scratch the brain
Leading it into landscapes of
Rolling pillows beset by dream quakes;
Rumblings of a purring kitten sleeping.

Nerves set on edge by gutter tunes as
Watery nails pick at the glass followed
With torrents of noise spilling from
Clouds moving as fast as fleeting dreams.

Waves of numbing pain wash over extremities
Eager to dive into the slumber pool,
Instead crushed by icy sheets and choking covers
Pushing the senses closer to the edge of madness.

Chasing sleep like a baby elephant
Racing after the next game
The body lays eager but the psyche falters
Frightened of eternity, infinity; of Rest.