Sonnet to Sleep

O soft embalmer of the still midnight!
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleased eyes, embowered from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine;
O soothest Sleep! if it so please thee, close,
In the midst of this thine hymn, my willing eyes,
Or wait the amen, ere they poppy throws
Around my bed its lulling charities;
Then save me, -or the passed day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes;
Save me from curious conscience, that still lords
Its strength, for darkness burrowing like a mole;
Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed casket of my soul.

-John Keats

The Art of the Nap

I love naps.

Really, I do.

It may seem odd for someone who is only seventeen. Naps have been generally monopolized by toddlers and old geezers and I think it's high time my generation took back this glorious past time.

I know, we teenagers aren't supposed to sleep. We stare at screens on our phones, lap-tops and mp3 players all night long and we are a genetically superior race that doesn't need sleep. To be honest, I can't do that. I am not fueled by technological coolness, I need something more to get me through the day. That thing would be sleep... glorious sleep...that and coffee. And sugar.

(For the record, Doctors happen to agree with me on this: sleep is a good thing. Now I just need to get them to see my point of view about sugar...)

Like most teenagers, I go to bed at an hour later than 9 PM and if I have a choice, I get up in the morning at an hour later than 9 AM. But regardless of my 7 or 8 hours of sleep, I am still totally game for a nap. Anytime, almost anywhere, give me a pillow and maybe a blanket, (a teddy bear would be nice, too) and I'm good to go.

The key differences between "sleeping" and "napping" are as follows:

~ When I sleep at night, I demand total darkness. Not a sliver of light must be allowed to creep into my cavern of slumber. But when napping, I crave the sun on my eyelids.

~ A good night's sleep is 7-9 hours of unconscious, uninterrupted. But a nap must not exceed two or three, otherwise I'm all foggified. <--- I'll have to add that one to my personal dictionary, ASAP.

~ Serious sleep must take place after one's teeth are brushed, pajamas are put on and pillows have been fluffed. But a nap can take place anytime, anywhere, with little to no preparation. Stop, flop and sleep.

~ Sleep is mandatory: do or die. Naps are optional. Luxury, if you will. It's like a slice of bread versus a cupcake. One is nutritionally necessary and one is just for fun.

Napping is a sort of sleep, but not all sleep is napping. I don't know why, but I happen to find napping one of the more delicious forms of sleep.

Then again, I've never been an insomniac.

What is Nothing?

Nothing.

What is nothing?

Everything is something... what is nothing?

What is not something?

To me, nothing is best described as that that best and blackest level of sleep. Where you don't dream, don't know, aren't aware at all. A sleep so deep and complete, it is almost death like in that when you awaken, it is like being recalled to life.

Nothing.

What does that mean to you?

Dreams

Dreams... the occupation of any mortal with a discerning mind and a soul.

Dreams... our dearly beloved reprieve from the mundane.

Dreams... those created while awake and asleep, the wishes of our hearts.

Dreams... the refreshment of the restless.

Dreams... the sailboat of our imagination.

Right now I wish I was asleep

I often wish it so

I tire of trite consciousness

Unto dreams I wish to go

Where things are so much better

And life hurts not quite so

Until I wake back into pain

Unto dreams I wish to go

Ah, but like all mortal pleasure, how frail are our dreams. How weak the cloud castles we build in the sky of imagination. So often we dream of things reality cannot lend us. Sometimes even things we would loathe if they became realities. I suppose that is the glory of dreams. The possibility without the pain. The promise without the cost. Those are the sweetest dreams- the impossible ones. Because in dreaming they become more tangible and it consoles our need for the physical and attainable. Yet while they can bring relief, they can also bring discontent and cause the chains of our limitations to feel even more restricting. They can alleviate and frustrate us all at the same time.

Is it worth it to hope?

Is it okay to dream? 

If the world falls apart

Then were will I be?

Clutching the dreams

And the hopes I once knew

Clutching the lies

I was hoping were true

My hopes and my dreams 

 Are all that I can claim

But can they relieve me

 Or bring none but pain

Some of us try not to dream. Better to accept what is than waste our time dreaming of what could be. Best not to hope, you will never be disappointed that way. It may seem as though I am confusing the two types of dreaming, but I feel they are inextricably connected. They say nightmares are good for you, your body's way of working out internalized stress. But is dreaming an all together healthy occupation? It is certainly very natural to dream, both dreams our subconscious creates and those we weave ourselves. Does that justify our dreaming? Does dreaming have a purpose? I suppose if one was attentive to one's dreams, we could discover patterns in desire, subconscious attitudes and perceptions and the lack of the things we wish we could erase from our real lives. But does that make them good? Are dreams just another way of coping with the human condition?

The seeker seeks

The dreamer dreams

Both are restless

Un-sewn seams

Tied in knots

While at loose ends

The seeker; the dreamer

Two painful friends

Dreams are bitter.

Dreams are sweet.

Dreams are human.