The house is quiet, completely dark
\nExcept for one defiant spark
\nWhich rails against the night’s embrace:
\nThe screen illuminates my face.<\/p>\n
The hour is late; my head is tired.
\nThe stimulants which kept me wired
\nHave long since faded. Now instead
\nI think of turning in to bed.<\/p>\n
I kill the light. My eyes protest
\nThis sudden, unexpected test.
\nI scarcely need them; in my brain
\nThe layout of my house is plain.<\/p>\n
The corridor is to the right:
\nA gauntlet I must run each night
\nWhere every floorboard’s heartless gaze
\nSurveys my pathway through his maze.<\/p>\n
Each sentry waits to shout my name
\nIf I should fail this nightly game
\nBut I have played at this before:
\nI deftly pass and gain the door.<\/p>\n
The danger here is not yet past;
\nI must negotiate the last.
\nThe final task that lies ahead:
\nTo reach the far side of the bed.<\/p>\n
My presence somehow more than sound
\nIs now my enemy. Around
\nThe bed I glide with silent speed
\nBefore the sleeper pays me heed.<\/p>\n
I shed my clothes, enter the warm
\nBeside my spouse’s sleeping form.
\nThe steady breathing lets me know
\nThat sleep is still the status quo.<\/p>\n
So I relax and, slightly curled,
\nLet Morpheus take me from the world.
\nMy thoughts ease their frenetic rate
\nAnd gently disassociate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The house is quiet, completely dark Except for one defiant spark Which rails against the night’s embrace: The screen illuminates my face. The hour is late; my head is tired. The stimulants which kept me wired Have long since faded. Now instead I think of turning in to bed. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elbeno.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}