Sleep Wordiness

Once upon a time I slept 

eight hours a day, so a third 

of life got spent unconscious.

Even in daylight I walked 

around unaware, just like

a corpse . . . but I was moving.

At some point in time I slept 

a mite less.  Even when I

got to bed I would not sleep

soundly for nightly heartburn,

a few trips to the toilet,

little words begging to be.

The time came when I did deign

to sleep on my left side and

the acid reflux vanished.

With the Kegel exercise

I suppressed the bladder’s need

to be relieved at bedtime.

Still, no matter what I try,

the little words persist in

having a mind all their own.

They appear in my sleep and

pellucid dreaming serves but

to bless their rage for order.