John-Ward Leighton

CAN’T SLEEP

Ali Farka Toure: The King of the desert blues singersMy head is spinning
full of thoughts jumbled
like a bag of dirty laundry.
Can’t sleep while
I’m in this quandary.
The sound track
is beating like an errant
heart
and I listen but take
no part.
A girl laughs
down in the street
and I burn my hand
on the just poured
hot chocolate cup.
The late great
Ali Farka Toure
wending his seductive
tunes
on a night when there
is no moon.
His tunes are the sharpest
sword to cut away
to world of imagination.
What indignation
will sustain our rage
to live?
What crime
will have cause our hearts
to give?
Is it the mark of manhood
to love those things
for which I would die
when I can’t think of a cause
that would inspire me
to live?
But life goes on
and without getting too deep
I’m getting soppy
because I just
can’t sleep.