Countenance

In the countenance of today

There’s no smallest measure

Of reprieve or leisure.

The thread between

My thoughts and reactions

Growing taut from lengthening distance.

Dangling from the precipice

Which separates simple exhaustion

From madness.

People ask me

Why do I do this?

Why do I clutch to sleep deprivation

And reject  wakefulness, rest,

And energy honestly come by.

I say to be creative is risky,

But to abstain is more so.

– Vagabond Prophet