Three hours sleep

- Jananiy Pathmanathen (United Kingdom)

What is this luxury in this life that I chase?

The perfect morning routine 

The vitamin complexes to keep hold of my brain

The juicy 7 hours sleep to get me through the day 

The peace and quiet in my room stuffed away 

I’m convinced if I don’t have my magnesium glycinate 

That I won’t rest well, I won’t act right

I forgot to journal today

Cue the spiralling and recurrent pain

I’ve been sold a dream of productivity 

Of chasing the money,

Convinced I’ll be happy when I get married 

When I’m settled in a three bedroom house

No chaos, all settled, wealth flowing in

And yes these are things I want 

But it’s not what a human needs

I can be on three hours sleep 

I can still love deeply

I can be rough around the edges and

Still live freely 

I can be anxious around my friends

And still be present 

There is no time like the presence 

I am blessed to breathe air that promises another day 

If my routine is off, I still have a place to stay 

I’ll stop chasing the never ending goal of health, wealth and success

I’ve still got my body to take another step 

Whether it’s forward or not, I’ll stay where I am

In this sweet moment, where I can be strong

Nothing is perfect in this ugly world

Where half of us indulge and the other half starve

So we do what we can and we love and we pray

We hold our loved ones tight and show up for them every day