Time drags on...
Moments becoming hours.
I battle for the most precious jewel,
An endless, pointless conflict-
Sleep doesn't come.

Until much, much later
As I drag myself to school,
Struggling to keep my eyelids up-
Atlas would've been crushed by their weight.

My arms shake,
My hands tremble,
As I fight to keep them moving.
Going through the motions,
Living through muscle memory.

I'm working one minute-
And next I realize it's been many since
That 'one minute'.
And my notebook
Has engraved lines on my face,
My head jerked to the table
By an unstoppable power-
The urge to sleep.

I can't focus
My brain or my eyes-
I can't move
My pencil or arm-
I have no
Willpower or energy-
So I simply exist
Locked in the most comfortable position possible.

And then the minutes slip by,
Mere milliseconds.
I am helpless.
The day fades away
Time dripping through my hands like water-
I watch in horror-
The last drop
F
A
L
L
S