Sleeping Late on Inauguration Day, 2017

Dreams refuse to wake with us.
They prefer the easy rewrites of sleep
to the alarms and showers
of daily routine. And who
can blame them? The noise
of this daylight, its empty oaths,
grind so hard into the skull,
the persistent weight
of my own head against the pillow
makes that weightless world
a welcome flight from a life
burdened with shadow.

Michael T. Young’s fourth poetry collection, The Beautiful Moment of Being Lost, was published by Poets Wear Prada. He received a Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award, and the Chaffin Poetry Award. His poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous journals including The Ashville Review, Cimarron Review, The Cortland Review, Main Street Rag, Prick of the Spindle, and The Potomac Review.