[A poem by Mr. Makineedi Surya Bhaskar titled ‘At the Edge of Sleep’.]
Sleep
pressed sideways by the night
slid to the edge of the bed –
as if about to fall.
A half-closed eye
kept watching me:
a summons from dreams,
or the disturbance of unrest-
I could not tell.
Uncertainty rocked with me
at the bed’s edge.
On my forehead
a bead of sweat hovered
sure not
whether to stay
or surrender.
My body remained there
still swaying-
one step toward dreams..
half a step back
toward waking!
Before dreams
could take their full shape
thoughts piled upon each other..
trembling,
turning into breath
that could not decide
its direction.
Then the earth-
perhaps it cast
its quiet net of gravity.
An unnecessary weight
sat suddenly
on my chest.
Reality-
like that bead of sweat..
paused for a moment
then slid.
Abruptly
as if an incubator door had opened
dreams and poems,
not yet fully formed..
fell out
as fragile eggs of thought
striking the floor-
with a sharp sound.
Unable to bend and gather them
I heard that breaking
not with my ears..
but clearly
with waken mind!
