broken dawn

if after a sleepless night

of struggling to write a single beautiful line

of restless pacing cigarettes and mosquito bites

when the air is cool and the last stars are gone

i see the glow of the imminent dawn

spreading at the horizon

and think

the hem of night’s cloak is frayed

the thought is quickly chased away by a vulgar painting

of night as a beauty that the artist attempted

to paint but failed miserably

the lines are crude the colours all garish

the choice of paper wrong the execution amateurish

and night is misshapen, ugly

how then can i put the line on paper anymore?

the frayed though unravels and drifts out the door

and as the sky turns a ripening peach

i finally collapse on the bed and give in to a restive sleep

to chase in my dreams words and thoughts that seem

like you, forever beyond my reach