Poem of the Week: Sleep and Her Ache by Katie Ford
I nightmared / far from her
Sleep and Her Ache
Katie Ford
Both flew brightly
to my bed
I nightmared
far from her
my body
her empty tomb
all the while
the earth laid down
its brutal head
it would not lament
it might be prudent
if it could not detect me
with the sound of sighs
I slept lightly then
This poem originally appeared in Blood Lyrics (Graywolf Press, 2014).
The presence of sleep.
What is its presence if its unattainable? I love the imagery here of sleep as a god (and well, if you’re a Hellenic pagan, you have Hypnos), where the slumber and reverie should be this effusive, immersive experience, but instead it’s stilled, haunting, and even quietly chaotic in the poem. What I love even more? The use of “nightmared” and the speaker comparing their body to an empty tomb. Truly ghostly.