film at eleven thirty

for once

i'd like to sleep without

a dream

haunting me

the entire

next day.

just once, i'd like to lay

my head

upon the pillow

and go

dark, without

the camera of my mind

rolling.

i'd like to

go quietly into the night

without

a cast of characters,

plots

and conflicts

getting in the way,

rewriting

in technicolor,

my history,

the sound overhead,

whispering

a stranger's name.