Slowly
Steadily
Inch by imperceptible inch
It eats away
At the night
Pushing back the quiet
The peace
The solicitude
The flights of fancy
REM sleep
Replacing it with
The stark
Unyielding
Unrelenting
Reality
Of the day ahead
Glory in the breaking dawn
Capture it
Bottle it
To uncork
And savor
When the day gets long