March 2021
Sterling Warner
jsterlingwarner@gmail.com
Bio Note: An author, poet, educator, my poems and stories have appeared in many international literary magazines, journals and anthologies, including The Fib Review, The Flatbush Review, Street Lit: Representing the Urban Landscape, Shot Glass Journal, and the Atherton Review. My most recent poetry collections are Edges and Rags & Feathers.. Serpent’s Tooth: Poems is scheduled for publication in 2021. Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories, Also, my first collection of fiction, was published in August 2020. A Washington based author, I currently enjoy writing, turning wood, participating in “virtual” poetry readings, and fishing along the Hood Canal.

Sleep Denied

Turning over, first to the left, then the right
seeking the perfect position for repose,
my body feels like bacon on a skillet
always moving, sputtering life not rest.

On sleepless nights, noise amplifies
from afar, creeps though window sills
and under door jams like silent dog whistles
only I can hear and respond to in kind.

The smell of damp clothing seethes
though the wicker bathroom hamper
that sits behind a folding dressing screen,
spreading toxic aromas that arouse and linger.

Drinking hot cocoa, marshmallows
on top, I look for time proven remedies
to curb my insomnia, make eyes feel rusty 
and shut undisturbed for more than a minute.

Dawn’s rays peek through my window
as I finally feel tired, then my alarm clock
wails like air raid siren, loud—obnoxious,
forcing me to shower, dress, and work.
©2021 Sterling Warner
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