Delta
My mind is afraid of
deep sleep. So much
threatens it
it won’t give up control
to the slow waves it makes
itself.
It keeps me in the shallows
eyes flickering
over what I know already
until I surface
exhausted
out of a night of
more of the day before
and feeling I haven’t dreamed
at all.
I forget.
Even my words
fail me.
When, mind
will you dive deep, and bring
pearls for my eyes again?
Bring me your weird electric fish
your coral trees
your worm-encrusted gold?
Judith Taylor comes from Perthshire and now lives and works in Aberdeen. Her poetry has appeared widely in magazines and she is the author of two pamphlet collections – Earthlight, (Koo Press, 2006), and Local Colour (Calder Wood Press, 2010).