GO!
Red light, stop, sigh of relief,
Heavy head leans back, eyes close,
So tired, barely conscious,
Endless nights of broken sleep.
Beep! Beep!
A voice in my head shouts, ‘Go!’
‘Eyes open!’ My brain tries again.
Beep! Beep!
Angry sound in my ears.
One eye opens, glimpses the green light.
‘Go!’ calls the voice.
Then it turns red again.
Eyes close. Missed it.
Next green light, I’ll go.
© Sarah Lee, 16 January 2016
There were endless days, weeks, and months, when I felt like this at a red traffic light. Sleep deprivation is torturous. Have you ever felt like this? Perhaps you were the driver behind me? I’m sorry. There were days when I thought I shouldn’t be in the car, but I had a child to get to an appointment, as well as a baby to care for – a baby that had kept me awake, every couple of hours, feeding from me. The tiredness was all consuming. I felt like everything was in slow motion and I’d move in a haze. The fog rarely lifted. The temptation to fall into a deep, momentary sleep, was constant. Every red light, or pause in the traffic, was a battle.
Those days are behind me now, but I will never forget them.
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So glad those days are behind you now. Luckily I managed to function on 4 hours a night when my twins were little. Mich x
Well done! I struggled terribly. All three of my daughters breastfed on demand and didn’t wean till past 2 year’s old! I think it was the mixture of breastfeeding and sleep deprivation combined. I was fine when I didn’t have to leave the house 😉 !
Firstly, I love the poem, the structure and the flow perfectly capture that feeling of extreme tiredness that you just can’t fight against. I am very glad those days are behind me now too, but sleep deprivation is torture! Thank you so much for sharing with #ThePrompt x
Your poem is wonderful in that it beautifully describes that fog like feeling you get from sleep deprivation
I was one of those mums with broken sleep for 18 months and for much of it you function but without thought! Great post and I’m glad those days are behind you too x
#theprompt
This brought back vivid memories from not that long ago 🙂 Remember those zombie days all too well! #theprompt
Great Poem. I remember those days very well x
This is superbly written. I love the pace of the poem – it suits the subject perfectly. It is so great to see you back lovely lady and thank you for linking to #Prose4T x