Presentiment Of Insomnia – Sergey Ignatenko

I may have written once or twice about the fact that I am a sufferer of insomnia.  I am pretty used to it by now, although I have recently achieved a couple of what I call nearly full nights sleep. This is a fairly good achievement for me as it means that I can go through the day with less coffee and break the vicious cycle.  That all sounds very droll doesn’t it.

Today I am taking a small leap of faith and pairing a picture with a poem I wrote (and I don’t do that often) about my experience with insomnia.

Firstly, Ignatenko presents a truly insightful image of insomnia for me.  The feeling of laying in the dark, willing sleep to come.  The dark tones of the pallet used, really reflect the feeling of solitude as everything slumbers around you.  The position of the person in the painting, a familiar feeling as you pretend that you can sleep.  I like the tousled hair and crumpled bed sheets in this painting, indicating a less than peaceful resting place.  The wide brush stroke of the paint adding to the feel of it.  There is also an almost out of body feel to this, as if the woman is looking down on herself, which I can testify, it can feel a bit like that when you have only had 2 hours sleep in 48.

This is why I have used this to go with my poem.  I think it really gets to the heart of the sleepless feeling.

Swathed in cotton,

She lies there,

Drowning in thoughts,

Of things forgotten.

Inky Gloom,

Engulfed in sea,

No guiding light,

To help her flee.

Darkly bound,

Solace drifts through,

A passing glimpse,

Of what others do.

Effulgence breaks,

Her blackened cage,

Lead on once more,

Where lights engage.

To ride the gleam,

And endure the blaze,

Till tenebrous stalks,

And energy frays.

Endless cycle,

The dance plays on,

She waits to hear,

Insomnia’s song.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post.  Maybe let me know what you thought in the comments.