Much earlier than my last couple tries, here’s my attempt at a poem using the words above, a prompt from the wonderful site, The Sunday Whirl.
The pressure accumulates of everything that
has ever happened to you or might.
It climbs into bed with you every night, whispering
and smoking. It’s scary, that voice, as it builds its case:
Calamity upon risk, impossible change, disaster. It builds
from an ember to a slow fire that can smolder all night
If fed. This slow, hypnotic voice coaxes, says
Attend to this jumbled order of what could be,
what never was, and what there is no more time to Accomplish.
Oh that voice will keep you company all night long,
If you listen.
Puff Of Smoke Poems 
That voice can grab hold of me and keep me from sleep for hours. To me this piece speaks to insomnia. During periods of high stress in my life, I suffer from it. So many possibilities whirl around…well for me possibilities, and dang…what did I do that for? Ha! Thanks for the write. I especially like the image of the voice building and smoldering like a fire if fed. Well done!
Brenda- At least where I live, the cure is simple —it rains so much lately that we can douse those smoldering insomnia fires just by wringing moisture from the air 🙂 Thank you for providing the prompt and for your thoughtful reading and commenting. I am truly thankful for both!
The “voice” speaks even when no words are rendered. What it conveys to us is what was meant to be heard by us, at that right time. This piece is disturbing in its accuracy. We all “hear’ what it says. Excellent.
Walt– Thank you so much for visiting, and I a truly grateful for your thought-filled comments. I’ve seen your name and poems on The Sunday Whirl and look forward to paying you a virtual visit soon. I’ll bring cookies.
The longer I listen to the voice (I think it’s name is Insomnia) the more I become convinced that something crappy is waiting in the dark.
Yes, Insomnia–that’s it exactly! My latest tricks are to pretend I’m awake on purpose, meditating, or to actively mock myself for what I’m fretting over, which is easy—recently, at 3 a.m., I was actually worrying about when I had last fertilized the herb garden 🙂 Feel free to try my cures–no charge 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting my site and for your thoughtful comments. Both are deeply appreciated.