The Naked Somnambulist

“What hath night to do with sleep?”
(John Milton, ‘Paradise Lost’)

The world rests in the night. Trees, mountains, fields and faces are released from the prison of shape and the burden of exposure. Each thing creeps back into its own nature within the shelter of the dark. Darkness is the ancient womb. Night-time is womb-time. Our souls come out to play with nightfall. The darkness absolves everything; the struggle for identity and impression fades away.

But for some, night-time is the time for a surreal adventure, it is the moment of surrender to the darkest dreams, it is the hallway to purge the thoughts of a life known long before.

A poem portraying a sleepwalker’s journey through the portals and vaults of his past life:

The blinding darkness,
the gentle wind of the eclipsed night;
the soft ripples on water.

The fading lights –
greens,
blues,
reds,

all muted against the black.

Through endless oblivion
I walk between the shadows,
counting the colours.

Who am I?
Artist?
Activist?
Alchemist?

A naked somnambulist.

The din of secret whispers
amongst the hideous night crawlers,
provokes an outlandish jargon.

An endless strain –
nights,
lights,
fights,

just to assert they’re alive.

***

The lonesome walk of night
does limit now the senses.

But what’s left of me?

Thoughts,
words,
acts,

speaking of

artists,
activists,
alchemists,

glide through the

greens,
blues,
reds,

of the endless

nights,
lights,
fights,

with the naked somnambulist.

***

Last night, around 2 am. I just opened the door of my room to empty the trash can outside. And suddenly a phantasmal figure seemed to glide towards me. It felt scary like hell! It took me a while to realize that it was my neighbour from the Manipur valley happily sleepwalking across the dark corridor. The humanly figure took 3 careful steps towards my door, then Thor’s lightning probably struck its senses, and a detour followed shortly in the right direction.

I owe the inspiration for this poem to that brief moment of panic, wonder and amusement. Love thy neighbour! 😛

© Tanumoy Biswas and The Nomadic Soliloquist 2013. All Rights Reserved.