"Cessation of rest"
There's a midnight sting in my eyes
that lingers there
for the whole day,
paranoid of what my face
might say
about it
to those who are looking,
I instead
bare my teeth
as friendly as can be
and hope no one asks
what I did last night,
Because in truth
it was just another slog
through insomnia and anxiety,
another 3 or 5 am sleep time
through all the canyons and valleys
of a never resting mind,
Hoping
for just some sort of simple respite
from all the heaviness
that exists in my life,
but usually
what happens
is just another long night
like all the ones before
plucked
from what feels like
an infinite supply,
like a long line
of reflections of mirrors
that never end,
just to trudge through them
and do it all over again.
-Armando Torres