I wrote this poem at 2.58 a.m. on Friday night (8/11/19) in a hotel room in Goa. I couldn’t sleep. I lay awake until past 3.00 a.m. in the morning. I’m not sure whether it was being away from home that was the cause of a sleepless night or if it was the excitement of a first-time girls’ trip or if it had anything to do with being alone in the hotel room.

Whatever the reasons might be, when I could wait no longer for sleep to serenade me, I decided to write. I have often found writing a companion in my solitude. It proved its’ worth that night too, as I lay awake amidst friends’.

While I hadn’t aimed at writing a poem that made sense both top-down and down-up, this turned out to be just that. I do not know if it qualifies as a ‘Reverse poem,’ or a ‘Mirror poem,’ or a ‘Palindrome,’ as I’ve never written one. But whatever it is I enjoyed writing it. If you know the name for this kind of poem, please let me know.

Also do let me know if you enjoyed reading the poem – forward and backward 🙂

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Ghosts of the past haunt

My eyes- wide open

I lie awake

I curl, I straighten

I toss, I turn

Sleep – she’s nowhere to be seen

Minutes crawl like hours

I pray

I stare into the darkness

The mattress – too springy

The pillows’ too soft

The comforter’s too fluffy

This room feels strange

My eyelids – far from drooping

I’m tired of waking

Its’ past 3 a.m.

I watch; like an owl

I pray

There’s nothing to do

I hear my breathing

I hear the air-con’s incessant buzzing

The night lamp’s too bright

I write into the night

Sleep- she evades me

Ghosts of the past haunt

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