the insomniac

The night was warm and mild

By moonlight gently aglow

I lay there half asleep

My thoughts quiet and slow

As I turned to switch the light

A sound echoed nearby

And again I was awake

Tides of sleep washed away

At first the sound was foreign

But then I heard a word

Beneath the mild moon

The predicament was absurd

I stumbled to the window

A man stood near the door

And chatted on his telephone

A sound I couldn't ignore

He would finish soon

How long could the phone call be?

And then he'd walk away

And maybe I could sleep

Minutes passed

And then an hour

Still the man remained

Somewhere an owl cooed

His presense was tedious

He could have been there for years

His words buzzed in my head

I wanted to stab my ears

He needed to be stopped

So disgruntled at best I rose

Rest was a distant shadow

Dreams were foreign prose

The man shouted and laughed

Fueling my pounding heart

He had to be stopped

He needed to depart

The door knob was cool in my hand

My heart a staccato beat

Blood pulsed and pounded

The floor creaked under my feet

The man could be hostile

I knew not his face

But I only wanted to sleep

To rid him of this place

I went to the kitchen

To grab a sharpened knife

It was better to be safe

Somewhere an owl cooed

The man was oblivious

He spoke and shouted still

The sound that deprived me of rest

He needed to be stopped

His voice was like needles

I unlatched the door in silence

He spoke and shouted still

A tone that bordered violence

I knew not what to do

At my back the blade concealed

So quickly he whirled and turned

Shadowy features revealed

It all happened quickly

The man and I alone

It felt like watching through glass

As icy metal struck bone

To the ground fell the stranger

I hadn't even learned his name

His phone cracked and clattered

Somewhere an owl cooed

And then there was blood

From his chest it poured and flowed

Hot, sticky, everywhere

I had only wanted to sleep

The moon watched overhead

Before me the man died and bled

That taunting, silver eye

Illuminating the body, cold and dead

From my hand fell the kitchen knife

Echoing a chaotic mood

The predicament was absurd

Somewhere an owl cooed

Nobody saw

Except that silver eye

Maybe I could get away

Wordless is the sky

I had only wanted to sleep

In defense my actions were made

A mantra I repeated

As I hid the bloody blade

The blood stuck to my hands

Panic would not relent

The situation was robbed of logic

Somewhere an owl cooed

In the street sounded a scream

But they could not know it was me

The body more corpse than man

And I still walking free

I hand't been alone

Somewhere, someone saw

I had only wanted to sleep

My conscience broken and raw

In prison I'd never sleep

Where inmates yelled and stewed

If they took me it would end me

Somewhere an owl cooed

Outside, another scream

If I ran, I'd never sleep

A life of hidden uncertainty

Somewhere and owl cooed

They had to know it was me

I was running out of time

The clock was deafening

That final, telltale chime

There was only one true escape

From what I'd done

From what would be

Somewhere an owl cooed

Once more I uncovered the knife

My hands were sickened with sweat

And my heart thumped and pounded

Somewhere an owl cooed

The blade was sharp and cold

The only escape I knew

I drove it through flesh and bone

Welcoming sleep, final and true