Sleep

There's a dark shadow,
Just below my bed.
Is it not visible?
Can't you see it?

They say sleep cures all;
Your stresses, your fears, your sorrow.
Close your eyes, little child.
Be it midnight or in the middle of the day,
Let sleep take your troubles away.



But mummy, sleep isn't a cure.
I'm scared of the night;
Just a little while more, please?
Ten minutes? Five minutes?
I'll sleep soon, I promise.

There's a shadow under my bed,
It crawls and it withers, ever silently;
It's mocking me now:
"Give up," it seems to say,
"When light vanishes and darkness reigns, it's just you and me."

Alright, your time is up,
Mummy has to go now.
Sleep well and sleep tight,
Close your eyes,
And soon, all will be bright.

No, don't go,
Stay here. Stay with me.
Don't turn off the lights,
Don't turn your back to me.
Don't leave me here...alone.

There's a shadow under my bed.
Are shadows just reflections of the dark?
Just like reflections, they mirror yourself;
But unlike reflections, they're not bright and stark,
They're murky, they're blur, they're eerie and unclear.

There's a shadow under my bed,

It mocks me and my sins,

My misdeeds and my untruths;

It reminds me, with a smirk, of all my problems;

"What are you going to do?"

No, sleep is no cure,

Because sleep doesn't bless me with sweet little dreams.

All it brings are nightmares, 

And not the imaginary, unrealistic kind, 

Just a reflection of the day, but worse.

There's a shadow under my bed,

And it knows I can do not a thing.

Which is worse? 

Being surrounded by people who judge you,

Or being surrounded by yourself?

There's a shadow under my bed.

It crawls and it withers, ever silently.
But that's not quite right, because
There is no space under my bed.