Another Sleepless Night

Tonight I lie,
another sleepless night
and listen:
The sounds of a distant train captivate my ears
driving my thoughts to those childhood summers I would visit my grandparents
and lie in the bed that belonged to my father,
as my brother slept in the bed that belonged to our uncle,
in the same room.

I remember when we first saw the room, my brother claimed our uncle's bed,
because there was a small silver cross nailed to the headboard,
and it could be spun and fiddled with when sleep would not come.

Perhaps I am glad now for not contesting my uncle's bed,
because I would rather be unable to sleep
than be hypnotized by the cross
and so tonight I lie,
another sleepless night,
listening to the troubled train in the distance
with no cross above my head to give me comfort.