Tied to a Stake
“They have tied me to a stake: I cannot fly,
But bear like I must fight the course.”
Macbeth
Insomnia’s got me tied to the stake,
And the dogs of thought are snarlin’.
Is 3 AM too early, or is it too late?
How about fronting me a Klonopin, darling?
Too much screen time, not enough exercise,
A gumbo of gone-bad cod bubbling in my head.
O god, three hours from now, I’ll have to rise,
and shuffle off to class, the walking dead.
Open your books to page 77
Let’s see what John Berryman has to say
in this poem that he directs towards heaven,
in this poem where he pretends to pray:
Forsake me not when my wild hours come;
grant me sleep nightly, grace soften my dreams.
My speed freak heart’s drowning him out like a drum,
Way too much caffeine, not enough cream.
This is a good poem bc it is not indulgent with academia. Seven-syllable words can be soothing, too, but are not really poetic to me. A dog I know takes Xanax for separation anxiety. I think it works!