Creep down the Indian rug hall

And enter the messy floor and poster-plastered wall that I call my room

After 37 seconds of teeth scrubbing
And pouring water over my face
I feel an adequate level of cleanliness for bed

I rearrange the sheets and blankets
Fold and smooth and press until perfect
Then I peel back a layer, like the skin of a ripe orange
Only to mess up my work

And after watching an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Or reading a few pages in a never ending book
I reach over
Put the computer or book down
And click off the light

You’d think it’d be a nice transition
Watching the bulb slowly cool off and die out in the now darkness
Hoping my mind would mimic
And that it would be a perfect time to sleep
But my head doesn’t think so
My nightly routine has just begun

I begin to crawl and creep down the memories of today past
And enter the world of thoughts
I scrub down the dirt of the day
I pour the mental whitewash over past weaknesses

I rearrange my interactions
Fold and smooth out and imperfections of the day
And make wrong right
Only to mess it up tomorrow

I watch and read what has happened
Over and over again
Until you’d think I’d know the words by now
And finally
Hours later
My brain clicks off

-- Theo Friedman '11