The Sleepless Slumber

In between the folds of the sheet

as I roll restlessly sleepless on my bed,

I feel the prick of dreams unfulfilled,

                desires unmet, and

                destinations, still beyond reach.

Each time

I try sitting up and

breaking  free

 of this sleepless slumber

I remember,

The points of non – retreat.

The alleys I got in,

The ladders I stepped on

The depths I plunged in

all have strict confines

no space to maneuver

no place to turn

on these one way tracks .

Moving ahead is thus

a fait accompli

So move on do I,

stretching and pushing.

And there I hear it again –

the clink!

Clear and loud,

louder each time!

The sound reverberates deep inside the soul

and fills my ears…

for years  I have been hearing

these pulsating, throbbing, noise…

the chisel of compromise

chipping off the proud idols of my belief.

I have seen them fall,

one by one

as a defeated army-

those I believed in

and their beliefs…

It all crumbles down

and spreads on the satin white

of the sheet

I cover myself with

in dark nights,

the pricks of which I feel

as I toss on my bed        

                -unslept!