No other lover has been so faithful as you, who wait for me at day’s end, unmoved by my failures and lack of grace, ready to bear me up without complaint and hold me in your embrace through every dark hour.
Magician of the night, I give you weariness and you transform it into rest. I drink the great elixir you prepare for me and awake refreshed in body and soul.
You are the skiff I row to carry me from past to future across the Sea of Dreams, where I have drowned a thousand times.
Atop your still rink, I glide and spin through the dark hours. When the ice melts, I fall beneath the depths, swim the length of night, and crawl to shore.
You are the dance floor of my memories.
Each night I meet monsters, lovers, and my other selves, reincarnated from remembrances past. We play upon your darkened stage – dramas, comedies, and mysteries – to our forgetful audience.
You are the envelope I fold myself in to mail myself to tomorrow.
I plant the seed of me in your rich soil, grow new again, reborn each day older than the day before.
You are the cocoon I wrap myself in to shed my younger selves, all the people I used to be.
I am sovereign of your continent, where I rule over a legion of dreams.
You are the sheet of paper on which I write stories of love and loss, tales too sad to tell or remember.
Unafraid I climb onto the ledge of night and jump. Then I wind myself in the shroud of yesterday’s me and die once more, until I can die no more.
Photos: skiff by phil smith skater cocoon
year-struck 
Beautifully said. Now you need to write about the dark knight of the night who steals your sleep and leaves you wide-eyed and bushy tailed at 3 a.m. so you can continue your cranky persona the next day.
Do you speak of the knight on the mare who terrorizes me or the thief who steals the sheep I count to help me sleep? 🙂
(And I hate to credit anyone for my crankiness. I’ve worked hard to be this way.)
😉 Perfect!
I cannot praise highly enough: fleece sheets! What did I ever
do without them? Flannel is NOTHING in comparison. These
are the sheets that make your skin remember your receiving
blanket! The embrace of your first teddy bear! I cannot live
without them. Even in summer, I must have my fleece sheets.
Fleece sheets? There are fleece sheets! I’m on it.
Where do you get those?
I will forward this comment to my bed.
Came over to comment on your post but fell in love with your new look. You may have had it for a while but I normally read from my emails. I never get to see all the pretty changes. Oh and I love your post too.
Thanks so much.
“I give you weariness and you transform it into rest.”…very well said. 🙂
I am thankful every night to have such a comfortable bed.
I think you must have a higher quality mattress than I do.
We bought a locally made one. It’s fantastic.
Lovely images and as always a beautifully written piece.
Thank you, JAA.
O Queen of the Night, I salute you. An exquisite paean to the beauties of sleep. I shall read it repeatedly, because it’s so very beautiful, and because of course–it’s true.
Thanks, Kathryn. And sleep well.
This is all sorts of awesome!
Thank you for reading.
You capture the comforts and terrors of night so beautifully. Thanks.
I am grateful to have such a good bed and to be warm and safe at night. I feel that I live a life a luxury compared to so many.
Very well written. I feel many of the same ways about my bed.
Thanks, Ann. Beds are one of humankind’s best inventions.
Wonderful! I think I need one of those mattresses of which you speak. Locally made, eh? Interesting.
We have a small company here that makes mattresses on site. Instead of attaching the pillow top on the mattress, they make it separate so that you can flip the top and turn it to prevent breakdown of the materials. That way, if the pillow top needs replacing, you can keep the box springs and mattress and just replace the pillow top. Most excellent.
Enjoyed very much your beautifully written tribute. You speak for many of us, and yet your own particular voice and personality are heard. You’re as beautiful as the refuge you praise.
Thank you, Shimon. A good night’s rest is such a blessing, I wanted to write about it.