Falling Asleep

The sun sets; the land cools.
Day slides over behind the mountains:
Night has overtaken me.
It is dark but I'm not scared.
It is cold but I don't shiver.
There should be a breeze off the sea
I should smell salt in the air
Hear parents calling children in for dinner
But there is nothing, nothing.

I turn from my window and look around the office.
It's not quite closing time.
I have my jacket on
Am waiting to leave
All that's left on my desk is my pocket watch
And a bare tree.
Time moves like a slug to a salt block
When it moves at all.
I turn back to the window
But it's different now.

There is the hard, plain truth
And the other, not as plain.

I see myself sinking,
Drifting out of consciousness,
And time melts away.
I am already asleep.
Maybe I have always been.