Insomnia. by Theophilus

1999



A few minutes past midnight and the rain 

Hits the front steps and splatters to land

On our toes and knees and mists our faces

But your breath is hot on my cheek and

Your arms are locked around me and 

Your legs tangled with mine and ive never

Felt more safe and content in my life.

We leave the front door open and lay there

Staring out into the roaring frantic darkness

The wind runs his fingers through our hair

The rain kisses our faces every few moments

And a flash of light burns a scar in the sky

We both smile, awed at the beauty of it all.

But the thunder was our favorite part

When he growled we felt the air around us

Tremble, but we breathed in his anger.

Lightening always reminded me of angels,

And id whisper prayers for them in my 

Baby lisp and tell God in a firm little voice

That He better keep them safe tonight.

And then Id bury my face in your neck

And id let your breathing rock me to sleep.



2009



You know I still go for walks in the rain. 

Especially thunderstorms, especially at night. 

Because there’s no one there to bother me, 

Not even the crazy 3 am dog walking couples, 

Even cars race by in a hurry to be home in their 

warm cozy beds. But sleep isnt very comforting anymore, 

Not without your lullabies in my ear and 

Your breath warming the back of my neck, 

But i still curl up like i used to, only now 

It’s not your arms around me, its just me and the covers, 

They don’t hold me the same. 

I miss you I miss you I miss you. 



1997



Sometimes id wake at night and I couldn’t 

feel your arms around me and the bed was cold 

Beside me and id jerk upright in bed and id just panic, 

Id be so scared, like the demons were just everywhere 

And they were all clawing at me and I didn’t know 

What else to do, so id just cry until you heard me,

And you’d tell me it’s okay and you were just getting 

Having a midnight snack or you were in the bathroom 

Or you were knitting in your rocking chair and 

You always promised you’d be right back, go back to sleep baby.

But you know I’d watch you walk away and I never fell asleep 

Until you came back, maybe just a few minutes, maybe hours, 

But I always stayed awake until you came back and held me 

and then everything was okay again, and I could sleep. 



Maybe that’s why I have such trouble sleeping.