4:47am, as Always

I took something to help me sleep
and dreamt I was yelled at in Chinese
because of a joke I tried to tell
The yelling was what woke me up
I woke and the whole street
was a soft blanket of white and grey moths
A man I've never met
confessed his love for me
in the dream
and I accepted his version of the truth
We sat next to each other, not speaking
That’s all I could stomach
It felt forced

When I woke, it was still night
The moths were not moving
and they wouldn't let the world breathe
I tried to go back to the dream
because I was hungry
and was just about to eat a meal
But dreams don’t let you do that
Dreams don't allow truancy or indecision
So I just stared at the moths
until they disappeared into the aurora
Sleep is cheap and brings no truth
Forced dreams and jokes and love
don't let anything breathe