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On the Liberation of Sleep

The grip of thoughts can be adamant,
fingers cling to fraying edges of the mind,
clasping and turning memories, wearing them down,
as if worry could spin a silkier pillowslip.
 
But the spirit— oh! 
Even now, the spirit is ascending, 
already released from the day. 
Its sail will catch God’s breathing,
flow to where scripts hold no sway. 
 
The banks of slumber 
hover amid aware and unaware as
a blackbird balances on the wind’s boundaries
weightless in the wonder of release.
 
And then—
the fall that is not a fall,
the surrender that is not loss,
only the deep, slow descent
into the hollow of Love’s palm,
where rest is not escape,
but an unburdening,
a bequest bestowed at liberty
a charity that hushes all impatience. 
 
So close your eyes.
Set the spirit free.
Let it flow, let it float, let it travel.
For the night does not belong to anyone,
but to the One who holds all things.

Scripture

In vain, you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
for GOD grants sleep to those GOD loves.                    Psalm 127:2

 

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Artwork: Material from Dreams digital Newman, 2025