Dolce Somnus and Tormented Slumber

Dolce Somnus and the Tormented Slumber

The eyes drooped tired and heavy,

As his breaths grew slower and deeper—

Slowly he drifted melodically,

Down the river paved with his dreams.

Little flashes of pleasure,

Each dream that lay before him—

Every image a different story,

Coolly intertwined into intricate streams.

A sad dream, a happy dream

Some filled with Brutus who plunged the knife,

But most left him with a sense of longing

For the things he missed most in his life.

Coughing, the terror!

What of my day was this supposed to mirror?

It was my inability to breathe

That was causing this foul interruption of my dreams.

Gasping for breath, an ecstasy of fumbling

As under a green sea, I lay there drowning.
In all my dreams, before the helpless night,

I plunge, guttering, choking, drowning.

My bed covered with tears and sweat,

I awaken with a fright.

Still coughing I laid there,

Helpless against onslaught during the night.

Dolce et Decorum Est, Dolce Somnus

Though it was hard to sleep there peacefully,

With my lungs drowning in mucus.

By Greg Butz

June 9th, 2009

I was having such a pleasant dream, until I violently woke up coughing. I also woke up my poor roommate as well. My eyes were streaming with tears, with my throat on fire -- I was breathing so easily just a few hours ago. After waking up, I took a Lozenges for my fit of coughing, sat down with my prayer journal, and after a few minutes of praying I wrote this poem.