a bipolar life
wake up to the deep midnight
breathing softly exhaling
steams up the window separating
cold and dark from warm and bright
snuggle up and douse the light
turn your face into the pillow
drift off to the place of dreams
wake up to the shimmering
blue with white puffy clouds
dangling lazily, partially glimpsed
with a tossing and turning eye
pillow thrown over head
scratching and grasping for
just a few minutes more
glb /// “wake up”
originally published 01/15/2014
i hate waking up to that feeling
deep, deep in the night
the nagging, gnawing
wraith of a thought
that isn’t gone
that the nasty fucker that
i thought i was rid of
is still just hanging around
biding its time
then it will come back
with a vengeance
to finish what it started
it doesn’t happen very often
but sometimes I let
myself wander off
into the farthest
corners of my mind
i discover these little ideas
lying around
those are the things that
nightmares are really
made of
glb /// “sleepless 4”
originally published 04/06/2006
i can feel you hiding there
on the corner of the bed
with your knifelike incisors
dripping to sink yourself
into my flesh
into my night
disrupting my dreams
waiting until i’m
comfortable with the
covers and pillows
before you are ready
to do your dirty work
i can hear you there
beginning your tiny moan
at the back of my throat
that will turn into a whimper
then a sob
as you have your way with me and
i spend another few hours
tossing and turning and
ruining the rest of my day
before it even gets started
glb /// “sleepless 1”
originally published 04/04/2006
but the thing is…
i awoke from a conversation
i was having with myself
with no idea where it started
with no idea where it was going
a harsh tone of feeling
breaks through
a coughing laugh
that came from somewhere
back and to the left
i could not see where
you had come from
i just knew
i should be there
either in your presence
or your absence
knowing you will be back
knowing i will see you soon
a jerking journey
through red mist and ether
moistens my flesh
it will be dry by morning
where i will wake with a start
throat and face bone dry
and my greatest trip
begins again
breaking up a conversation
i was having with myself
glb /// “red mist and ether”
originally published 05/11/2015
going sideways 