Hello, this is Frank Hubeny. The topic today is sleep.
One of my motivations for this topic was reading SarahSouthWest’s poem “Sleep” about not being able to get to sleep. Sleep can suggest many things: rest, dreams, nightmares, or even death. Some people view sleep as a waste of time. Some view it as a source of inspiration. Even when we are awake, some claim that we are “asleep” and need to “wake up”. Some think there’s nothing but sleep and dreaming.
Another motivation for this prompt came from walking through Lincoln Park in Chicago a month ago and finding a statue dedicated to Eugene Field and his children’s poem, “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” . I must have “woke up” when I realized he meant “winking, blinking and nodding”. Here is Lucy and Carly Simon singing music written by Lucy to that poem (Source Carly Simon):
There are many ways to look at sleep. For this prompt, pick your favorite perspective on sleep and write about it. Post it. Copy the link to that post and paste it in the Mister Linky. Then read and comment on what others have written. Share in the dreams we bring to each other.
dVerse 
Welcome! The pub is open!
Good evening Frank! I’ve just posted my poem and am looking forward to reading sleep poems before I go to bed. I stuck with the children’s poetry today and it’s a little longer than my usual poems. I hope it’s not too twee,
I had to look up the word “twee”, but I would say nothing is too twee here. I will be reading it shortly.
Very nice sounding poem, Kim! I liked that comet shark at the end.
Thanks Frank!
Thanks for hosting, Frank. This is a new prompt for me. I tried to approach it from 4 directions–four styles=–had some fun with it.
I am glad you enjoyed this prompt, Glenn. I was happy I could find one way to approach it, let alone four, but it is a potentially a very broad topic.
Good evening dear friends – still on my way (quite shaken by Brukner). I will try to comment on the subway home.
That sounds like an enjoyable evening, Bjorn. I suspect it is good to be “shaken” by music.
Had to cancel class due to lack of students tonight so here earlier than planned.Look forward to visiting you all.
I enjoyed your poem, Paul!
Thanks Frank.
Happy Thursday, everyone! I LOVED Wynken, Blynken and Nod when I was young. Read it many times to my grandchildren when they were young. I’m in NC now for an extended weekend with my son and his family. Hpoe to get to reading later tonight or early tomorrow morning before the kids all get up 🙂 Went short with a tanka for this one.
I like short poems. They are more challenging.
Lovely prompt, Frank! I’ll have a cup of coffee, all things considered, if you please! Back to read in a bit. Cheers, Y’all!
Cheers Jilly… this is prompt one could sleep on as well.
Coffee I know how to make. Although coffee sometimes doesn’t keep me awake. I liked your poem. The words “wake” and “lake” toward the end are in my mind now.
Thank you for the coffee; that places you in ‘hero’ status! It doesn’t always keep me awake, either.
Battling numerous and varied sleep disorders, I have many sleep poems in my stable. I chose this one from 2010 as a reflection of Chilean Poet Gabriela Mistral from her work, “The Sad Mother”.
Very nice set of poems, Walter. I think you matched Mistral’s poem well.
Hi Frank, a local park where I grew up also had a sculpture of Winken, Blynken & Nod ….thanks for the memory 😄
I only heard the poem for the first time recently, after seeing the statue in the park, but I seemed to have known it from somewhere. It appears to be a very popular poem.
I enjoyed the Simon sisters’ song 👍🏼
I will be back in about an hour.
I’ve added an audio version of Toxic Sleep.
I just listened to it–very nice sound, Paul. I find words easier to understand when I hear them.
What does “MTB” in the heading stand for?
It stands for “meeting the bar”. I am not sure what it was intended to mean. This is a virtual “pub” or “bar” in the USA. It could refer to meeting someone at the pub? The bar could also be a challenge to see if one could meet the challenge as in “set the bar high” or “set the bar low”. That kind of bar would be to see if someone could write a poem in a specific form such as a sonnet or haiku or to write a poem about some topic such as sleep.
💚
Making Thursday Better 🙂
That works for me! It only occurs on Thursdays.
Fun prompt, Frank. Perhaps I can get to it tomorrow.
Tomorrow is fine if the muse is cooperative, Merril. The Mister Linky should go for 48 hours. I sometimes can’t think of anything to write.
Thanks, Frank.
Thanks Frank, a great prompt – looking forward to reading everyone’s response. Cheers.
I enjoyed your poem, Peter! I am glad you liked the prompt.
Stopping in for a night-cap, then off to sleep and dream!
Here it is!
Very nice poem. I just read it. Far from being a waste of time, sleep is mind opening.
Marley, just so you know, I couldn’t read your poem – WordPress told me that your site is protected and I need permission to view it. I was sure I was able to read other poems of yours. Maybe it’s a hiccup. I’ll try another route through your comments on mine. 😉
Hi Frank, you can remove my link (i decided to remove that bog post). Sorry for the trouble!
I removed it. No problem.
I’ve been out of town, so super late to the party. Love this word, Frank. Thank you. I’ll make my rounds later.
Sorry, Frank. This was actually a comment for the Quadrille, for Mish.
No problem. Have a nice weekend!