Insomnia Post-Midnight

By Lee Waddington

Restless feet tread water beneath the sheets
Whilst shadows torment and pull ugly faces
That haunt in the darkness of post-midnight

I’m up but lay stripped, crucified to the mattress
The night tap, tap tapping a line from an anti-sleep protest song
My heart on a long trip descent from an outstretched chord

The post-midnight noose tightens against the strain
Pulled by the bull that paces up and down my spine
Snorts and dust fill the space of this darkened place

Onion battered eyes torn from layers of skin
Peeled away in the shimmer of the post-midnight moon
My heart a strawberry, an arm a spoon

Chaos is no theory from where I wish I did dream
Just lunatic asylum ready thoughts
From a patient of the post-midnight society

Lee Waddington currently lives in West Yorkshire, UK. Lee is a UEFA ‘A’ qualified coach with a Masters’ Degree in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology from Staffordshire University. He has worked for several Premier League soccer clubs including; Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Burnley. A keen writer for over twenty-five years, Lee writes in several formats from short stories to educational sports writing and poetry. He has a new book, Framework to Freedom being published in April 2022 and several of his poems in May of this year. Lee likes to spend most of his spare time with his partner, Anna and their family of five daughters. He also likes to travel, read, watch soccer and, of course, write.