Insomnia - Baba Brinkman

It’s 4:45 and I’m fortified and on track

Awake overnight, a glorified insomniac

I wait for the morning light to make contact

It’s a glorious sight for sore eyes;

as dawn cracks

I’m ignoring it;

why?

My vision’s gone black

It’s time for a long nap, and I’m ready to be

Settled deep in steady sleep;

nestled in feather sheets

I’m already intrigued by what I see ahead of me

An iridescent beach, a crescent peach moon

A phosphorescent sea stirred by a western breeze

That carries a pleasant tune with a resonant beat

From the direction of desert dunes, as I begin to creep

To a crest where a vision looms: I can see seven priests

And a collection of ruins where earth and heaven meet

Sacred temples and tombs where spirits live and breathe

Their holy breath in the rooms, and I watch expectantly

As a ritual resumes;

but the head priest removes

His headpiece and beckons to me impatiently

As a second priest prepares a place for me next to his seat

And I obey his decree on shaky feet breathlessly

And leave the safety of the beach in a state of ecstasy

And proceed to the left of the priest and then stare

As the high priestess descends the temple stairs

And she’s dressed in expensive layers

From her knees to her chest and I freeze;

in her hair

Is a bee’s nest;

it’s the headpiece she wears

That keeps the rest of them all meek and scared

I try to be prepared, unaware that she wasn’t

Even comin' for me, and I would be spared

Then I’m on my feet runnin', surrounded by bees buzzin'

I can see the priests covered in about three-dozen

Apiece, with the priestess standin' above ‘em

Lookin' like she’s lovin' every minute of it

For a moment the image hovered in my vision and doubled

And then the next thing I know I’m back under my covers

Smothered with sunlight streaming through the shutters