I must have journeyed far that night

For I found myself struggling to return

To the certainty and solace,

Coveting that familiar, unfamiliar realm.

But the veils of sleep were fast receding

Like water through sand,

As consciousness stirred and intruded

Tying the disparate threads of itself

This way and that

Weaving my sackcloth for another day

As it hauled me to the surface unbidden

To cast me on the shore,

Out of my element

Gulping,

Like a landed fish.