Stealing the Somnolence, by Mark Tulin

I don't like traditional soft beds;

beds that have four legs, a spring

and a mattress, a sheet and a cover—

I prefer the alternative,

the freedom of a hammock,

the coarse straw of a barn,

the unpredictability and the darkness,

the rage of sexual politics,

an open window to a moonless sky,

the cold wind of a rural winter,

a nighttime fantasy that goes astray,

a pack of wolves howling on the hill,

to sleep at once on my side and back,

on a bed of nails—stealing the somnolence

from the nectar of a flower.

Mark Tulin is a former family therapist who lives in Long Beach, California. A publisher compared his work to artist Edward Hopper on how he grasps people’s quirky traits. Mark’s books include Magical Yogis, Awkward Grace, The Asthmatic Kid and Other Stories, Junkyard Souls, and Rain on Cabrillo. Mark appears in Ariel Chart, Spillwords.com, The Opiate, Vita Brevis Press, Amethyst Review, and others. Mark is a Pushcart nominee and Best of Drabble. Find Mark at www.crowonthewire.com and Twitter: @Crow_writer.