Inside The Hearts' Walls

by Turtle Shell


First and last
on every list
every day
is sleep.

You can kill yourself without dying
Cast your spirit into an unliving stupor
Too tired to focus, too depressed to care
Too desperate for any meager drops
of fun, or feeling,
to go to bed when you should.

Sleep deprivation
self-perpetuates.

For seven weeks
Winter term
Junior year
I was my own zombie horror flick
A stumbling, despondent parody of life

I am horrified that it took me so long to wake up.
I will never forget
I will never reprise
those dolorous delirious days.

So here is my second lesson:

First and last
on every list
every day
is sleep.