Under the duvet, in the dark, I lie still, making no fuss
Hearing the blackbird lead the dawn chorus
Tumbling out tunes that dissolve the night's grip - but
Cares then seep silently into my mind
Edging out beauty - that birdsong sublime
Aches of old age and stiffness of joints
Remind me I'm mortal and full of weak points and then
Every mistake made and all my fears re-emerge and amplify.
*Uhtceare (plural) is an old English (Anglo-Saxon) word for pre-dawn (uht) cares and anxieties (ceare (plural) or caru (singular).
Trouble sleeping is clearly not a modern thing.
In our May meeting for the warm-up task, we took this ancient word to explore some of the things we might write about for the June writing task on sleep.
3 comments:
I love that we've both mentioned our aches and pains (will publish my version shortly!)
I particularly like the image of "dissolving the night's grip"
Love the way you wrote the word 'amplify'. A vivid recollection of a place we have probably all been to.
I love that you lie there Liz making no fuss. I try to too but sometimes I am restless and literally toss and turn.
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