Member Poem

Purple bags rest underneath my eyes,
The only part of me that sleeps
Twilight’s hand rushes past me towards
Dawn, who is waiting to take my purple bags from me,
at last- alas! He grabs them too tightly, holding on
for dear life
dear Life, slipping away under my fingertips
I try to catch it
But I can't
Because my hands are too full clutching these
Purple bags. They drag my vision
Downward and I miss
Life
It’s
A
Downhill
S p i r a l
I yearn to release these
Bags. To set them
Down. To place them
Under loose floorboards
Beneath
My bed

Out of sight
Out of mind

I close the door as I enter my chamber
But it remains open
Flooding the room with despair
Purple bags holding Anxiety, Defeat, and Insanity
Float
On this torrent of emotion
I collapse on the neatly made bed
Immediately, my pillow grabs my head, forcing me into slumber
But it never comes
Because all the while
Those purple bags rest beside me
Near my head
Controlling my thoughts
The heavy blanket suffocates me,
Tying me to the bed
Unable to move, I feel the
Bags creep into my sheets, depriving me of sleep

My mattress dissolves into quicksand,
Drowning me. Too soon,
The bags scoop me up,
Saving me from unconsciousness
But oh, how I wish for senselessness!
Thoughts of sleep swim in my overtired brain
Dreams of the day won’t go away

And the water continues to churn
I call out for guidance
Distance voices respond
But they are too far away to help

I am alone.

So
I send a note in a bottle and
Let the rushing current carry it away

And somewhere on shore,
Another sleepless figure picks it up

He places the bottle in his own purple bag
And, guided by the glow of the stars,
Walks away, into the open darkness.