These things keep me awake at night
Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon a full moon finds chinks in the curtains I need darkness not moonbeams to slide on I want to sleep my last glass of Cabernet Sauvignon swells my old bladder before morning I have to pee a poem fizz-ferments in my brain and it’s too cold to get up and write it down I can’t let go my daughter calls to say she’s late but fears she’ll lose the baby like before I pray for her I remember my mother’s spankings my bruised child-self still hurts I weep for her men I’ve loved who did not value me and needed a mother not a partner I wasted time tasks I shirk or forget to complete, good friends I fail to contact as I rush through days I’ll try harder new aches arrive with stealth each day shorten walks when at last I’ve got good boots I won’t sit still the risk of saying harsh words, or nothing at all, no love in our last encounter know I love you these things keep me awake at night |
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About the Author:
Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. She writes short stories and poetry. She has been widely published in web magazines and print anthologies. She was Highly Commended in the Blue Nib Chapbook Competition [Spring 2018], won the Hedgehog Press Poetry Competition ‘Songs to Learn and Sing’ [August 2018] and was shortlisted for the Neatly Folded Paper Pamphlet Competition, Hedgehog Press [October 2018]. In 2017 she graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University and she is now developing practice as a creative writing facilitator with hard to reach groups. She believes everyone’s voice counts.
Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. She writes short stories and poetry. She has been widely published in web magazines and print anthologies. She was Highly Commended in the Blue Nib Chapbook Competition [Spring 2018], won the Hedgehog Press Poetry Competition ‘Songs to Learn and Sing’ [August 2018] and was shortlisted for the Neatly Folded Paper Pamphlet Competition, Hedgehog Press [October 2018]. In 2017 she graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University and she is now developing practice as a creative writing facilitator with hard to reach groups. She believes everyone’s voice counts.