Lately, my body has forgotten
how to sleep. I recite my childhood
prayer, “Now I lay me down
to sleep.” But I don’t. 

Wakefulness chases me
through the still small hours.
Midnight. Three am. My body
restless, my mind turning

like a chicken on a spit.
And in those rare moments
when I lapse into sleep,
my dreams parade a list of loss. 

All my family elders, every
pet that has died. All the homes
that I have lost. All the friends
that are no longer mine.