Time to Go to Bed by Lauren Hemphill (quick morning warm-up)

It’s time to go to bed.

I hear the words in my head,

Echoing, spiraling, devouring my dread—

Or devoured by it? Who can tell,

The lines are blurred, the ringing bell

Of the match’s end sings loudly as I sell

The last of myself for peace of mind,

For silence, to breathe, to finally be kind

To the person in the mirror, the one with hands that bind

My fingers, my mouth, the heart—decide.

Caught up in whispers, caught up in lies,

Wondering how this all buys

Salvation for the vicious eyes that size

Up the competition, take bites out of your soul.

The words whisper in my head, the death toll

Rising, ever counting, of how many times in the lull

Of noise I wish myself dead.

It’s time to go to bed.