“Once I wanted the whole dawn not to let me sleep”
Annie Finch ~ Lucid Waking
...Now I beg these longer nights for slumber. Lights out except for a candle, captive in a hanging lantern's orb of spider glass. I watch it gutter and flutter, throwing shadows in ever expanding, ever shrinking art forms. Turbulence from the open window sets the whole in motion, creaking slightly with each sway. Hypnotic. Closed eyes. Time trundles on though the clock faces backwards. Breathing tension away. Then I hear it. The unmistakable buffeting of an insect between ceiling and wall. It touches my face. A scramble for the light switch and illuminated there is the clumsy form of a Crane fly, legs too long for aesthetics. It moves closer to the corner. I will it into a dusty web that has gone unnoticed. But no, back it comes, dipping in flights of meaningless direction. All chance of sleep is gone. Yet there is compensation in the company of this other wakeful soul. We witness constellations slip slowly westward, a moon sinks, dawn clouds threaten rain.
each day briefer still
insects take their final flight
autumn fires the wood
Grace’s challenge is to ‘write and find the “extra” in your ordinary day’ Haibun Monday #22 ExtraOrdinary Days
PoetryPix 
Very interesting and wonderful read. ❤
Night of the crane flies will soon pass! Glad you enjoyed
Nothing like a wayward insect in the bedroom to remove all signs of sleepiness! Lovely, haiku!
Indeed – buzzed awake by small worries! Struggled to find an emergent haiku so your comment reassures
Lovely writing style. Can I sense the slight tension caused by the visitation, the ‘not quite enough sleep’ voice? (Willing him or her into a web) Nice Haiku to end.
thank you Paul – small mercies for insomniacs!
We witness constellations slip slowly westward,
a moon sinks, dawn clouds threaten rain
At least it provides company for both wakeful souls.Time would then pass by with no efforts and without realizing it!
Hank
insomnia forges the strangest of relationships
I won’t be able to sleep too~ Love this part:
We witness constellations slip slowly westward, a moon sinks, dawn clouds threaten rain.
Love your haibun and thanks for joining us for Haibun Monday~
this haibun had a difficult birth Grace but appreciate being stretched 🙂
How nice of you to cozy up to him just enough to share in the delight of the dawn. I especially like this line “I watch it gutter and flutter, throwing shadows in ever expanding, ever shrinking art forms.” and your haiku is beautiful.
we were not that close Mish! thank you for your appreciation
Somehow I read this as an acceptance of an inevitable insomnia… I so much remember this as part of growing up… when young you slept hard whenever you could, then came panic of not being to sleep which gradually slipped into acceptance and requirements on how a night should be… and somehow I slipped back to sleep. Love your language with the crane fly…
frustration resolving into acceptance yes- missing some sleep meant seeing the night time spectacle