Sleep patterns alter as our bodies age:
From infancy when naps fill day and night,
decreasing dream time till we reach the stage
of teen ability to sleep in light
of morning, anywhere and any time,
to young adulthood woken by our kids,
to solid aR Ee eM when in our prime,
to broken rest at night as aging bids.

We seem to take development in stride.
We don’t appear to miss the baby sleep,
the college-age all-nighters, getting fried
and sleeping in. I wonder why you weep
at waking often now, before the dawn.
I’ll play the hand age deals me, with a yawn.