tell me something true,
whisper it softly.
i cannot sleep with all
these hungry fictions under my bed.
they sing sweet lullabies
into my ear, it keeps me up
at night.
tell me something earthly,
bring me back down,
a sudden wind, a fallen moon,
a too tight skin stretching over bone.
fasten my feet into two ton boots
so that i cannot float away again.
tell me something real,
make me feel human again,
hum a tune i can trust,
one that sets my soul on fire,
and let it light the way forward.
i want to know if i’ve chosen
the right path.
tell me something alive,
like springtime in a new city,
hopeful and painful
like a wound that hurts more as it heals.
i used to walk
as if flowers bloomed beneath my feet
with every step i took.
i want to walk that way again.
tell me something true.
whisper it softly,
i cannot sleep with all
these memories in my head.
they circle and mock,
haunt me, taunt me—
i just want to dream sweetly.
so tell me something true
even if isn’t.
i won’t know the difference.
The Junction Journal 
This poem connects to me because it reminds me of the nights when I sit alone and ask God for direction. I’ve had moments where I stop everything, close my eyes, and ask Allah to show me if what I’m doing is right especially when I’m trying to change my life, stay disciplined, and focus on my goals. The feeling in this poem matches the same feeling I have on the nights when I ask God to calm my mind so I can sleep.
The line that stays with me is: “I want to know if I’ve chosen the right path.” This reminds me of the exact question I ask when I try to fix my habits when I fast on Mondays and Thursdays, when I delete distractions, when I stop listening to certain things, when I try to be closer to my faith. I always ask God if He sees the effort I’m trying to make and if I’m moving in the right direction.
The poem also connects to the times when my thoughts feel heavy with memories or mistakes from the past. I’ve had nights where I couldn’t sleep because my mind was too loud, and I would ask Allah to give me peace or a small sign that He’s listening. That same longing shows up in this poem, the feeling of wanting something real and steady to hold onto.
Reading this made me think of my own journey trying to improve my life, trying to stay close to my religion, and asking God to guide every new step I take.
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Hi Duly,
Your blog post really spoke to me because it reminded me of my own experiences when I try to fall asleep at night. I feel like at night when I’m trying to sleep I’m often kept awake by my own thoughts. When it’s late and you’re trying to sleep, it’s only you and your thoughts and I think that your poem really captures what it’s like when your body is tired yet your mind is awake. During the day it’s easy to forget the things that are bothering you, but when you’re trying to fall asleep there’s no distractions to get rid of the thoughts in your head. A line that really stuck out to me is,” i just want to dream sweetly. so tell me something true even if isn’t. i won’t know the difference.” This line really stuck out to me because it shows just how desperate this person is to get relief from their thoughts and memories of the past. It doesn’t matter if they’re being told lies, they just want the comfort and just want to fall asleep. It reminds me how people often find temporary relief in things that end up hurting them in the long run just because they don’t want to sit in their own sadness. I feel like I do something similar when I’m kept up and night by my thoughts, I imagine that I’m putting the things that are keeping me awake into a jar and sending it off. Even though the problems aren’t truly going away it still stops me from thinking about it during a time where I don’t want to. Your poem gave me a new perspective on things, it made me realize that if people took the time to process their memories and feel their negative emotions instead of searching for a false sense of security, maybe those things wouldn’t haunt them at night.
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