The weather was cool (or, for me, cold)
The room was comfortable, neat, homely,
The bed was cozy; yet I couldn’t sleep.
Because it was not my bed.
The bedspreads were clean,
The blanket warm, the pillows snugly
Still I couldn’t sleep.
I peevishly felt for the pea.
The bed didn’t fit me!
Or was it vice versa?
I did not belong.
Some force was trying to expel me.
I missed my dent on my dear bed
That knew me and my curves well,
And held me soothingly like a cradle.
This bed didn’t smell familiar,
Someone had been there before me,
I sniffed for a stranger,
It was a disgusting thought.
And oh, I couldn’t sleep!
Like a fish I lay there tossing,
Yearning for my own bed.
What a night! What a nightmare!
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I am blessed I think in that way.. i just have to put my head on the pillow and I am asleep..No matter where..
This is one thing I hate about travelling. You are really blessed, I should say.
I have no problem sleeping most of the time when I travel (I’m too exhausted) but I remember when I was a little girl and my mother said she was going to buy new mattresses for us, I wanted to keep my old one that had the indented spot where I slept “like a cradle.” It is funny how our bodies sense familiarity and comfort. Whenever we have to move it’s always so wonderful to have our old familiar furniture in whatever new place we find ourselves. Then it’s home again.
It’s not good to be so attached to anything, I know. I have always adored my grandmother’s sister (now 87, the youngest of the seven sisters – all the other six gone long back) for her highly adjusting nature. She will be there on all special occasions at her nephews’and nieces’ houses. All she would need is one set of clothes. She can sleep anywhere, be with any kind of people, and eat any kind of food. By God’s grace she enjoys good health even after the unexpected demise of her son recently. She is the strongest pillar and of our family. We have a lot to learn from her. Every place is home for her. People like you and her are lucky.
Oh yes, I know that feeling well – I would be exactly the same, you’ve described this so well, a real waking nightmare!! 😀 There is nothing more perfect than our own bed, pillow and sheets. Even if the bed is fine, if the room is not my own, then it’s not fine. I think there is an emergency alarm bell somewhere in my head that tells me it’s not safe to close my eyes in a strange room. Probably very silly and a subconscious concern – but it’s there! 🙂
And I love the bit about sniffing for a stranger!! 😉
Reading all the previous comments I had started feeling something’s wrong with me. Finally I have found some relief – I have company. 🙂 I have always found it difficult to sleep in strange places, even if I am dead tired. Some uneasiness keeps me awake. My imagination will be crazily active. Thank you Suzy, for your empathetic words.
I can sleep anywhere. It only happens when I have something in my mind bothering me.
Reminded me of the poem ‘Cats Sleep Anywhere’ http://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/8991.html. I know how intimate you both (you and sleep) are. And I have never seen anyone who can sleep so soundly. :O
Don’t embarrass me in public please….nice poem
Did I? 🙂 Actually I meant it to be a compliment. 🙂
Thanks, dear.