just go to bed

by Fred Aiken

this might just be my perception,
but i feel like i’m a better poet when 
i’m sleep deprived

perhaps it’s the lack of self-editing i do,
perhaps it’s because it feels like a barbell is pushing into my chest
and i need to write this last thought, last sentence, last stanza
before i go to sleep,
whenever that will be,

i like to treat sleep like a treat
that i can only do when i’ve written so many words,
and in such a way that they’re semi-coherent,

this poem might not be all that great,
but at least finishing it finally means i can go to bed