Stay awake
Keep breathing
Wriggle your toes.
Remember the clouds above
and how you marvelled at them that time
looking out of the aeroplane window.
Mouth wide open at their beauty.

Feet on the ground
Breathe deeply
It’s love.
But it can’t block out
the dewy grass beneath you
and the way the rain glints
on every surface.

Hold tight
Be patient
as the world turns.
Time won’t keep up
with your beating heart
and your rasping breath.
Won’t sympathise with your feelings of lust.

If you choose to seek refuge in
the cave that is love:
That’s dark and cloudy with your imagination.
Don’t come crying, that
you can’t see the clouds
can’t feel the dew.
Can’t breathe.

Can’t stay awake.