What one can do on any given day
Sometimes amazes, when reflected on,
But other times it brings profound dismay
To think of all the tasks one left undone.

Such days can lead to restless, fitful nights
In which the mind can’t be dissuaded from
Revisiting one’s slips and oversights;
Obsessively accounting what’s to come,

Until exhaustion settles on the brain,
And smothers all the nagging voices, yet
The ghosts of castigation will remain:
Disturbing dreams that one cannot forget.

Ironic that these worrying mistakes,
Are the result of being kept awake.