Goodnight by Johanna Marcelin

When I go to sleep tonight

I dare myself to see the light

Ignore the faults of the stars

And follow the chasing cars

Dream of nightmares that bring joyful tears

And pray prayers that only the Lord can hear.

Embrace the pain that I ignored for so long

Remember the things that kept me strong

When I wake up

I expect not to feel beaten-up

Not too broken

Not overfilled with a wide range of emotion

I am not a ball to be tossed around

But a royal ready to be crowned

Yet when I sit on my throne of despair

I am prepared to allow the spare become the heir

But when I go to sleep tonight

I expect to feel all right

Let the morning problems go away

And the nighttime happiness stays

Yet, that's not how pain works

It will always lurk

Why did I foster agony

And ignore the irony

Sleep to ignore the problems

that I let flame

Perhaps I will map out

a solution tomorrow but I doubt

But goodnight

As I will still be alright

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About This Piece

It's a poem that explores the reality of trying to escape our problems by holding on to the good and pushing the pain further away for our comfort, so we don't have to confront changes that may benefit us because of risks we are afraid to take. However, we are self-aware, just not willing to take the steps we need to move past our pain

Credits

© 2026 Johanna Marcelin. All Rights Reserved.