The Mist Of Sleep

Through the mist of sleep, my eyes were forced to gaze

Upon such an image of beauty that my heart did so shamelessly crave

I realised I was just a touch away from paradise in its iniquitous extreme

But it was as I reached out to her that I was shaken, and woken from my dream. 


With lonely frozen tears into sleep once more I did descend

Searching for the dream that I could not find, or could I comprehend

Chilled I lay, impossible to move, as entrapped without hope I was enclosed 

I begged for life. I cried for warmth, but there was no pity in the voices that arose.


When my conscience stopped regretting the past a path was shown ahead

But a voice cried out with caution—‘The path is not straight. Be careful how you tread’

Deep inside the shadows great arched ceilings could I see

And there beneath the last high vault lay a figure that looked just the same as me.


Confused was how I felt. Suspicious of everything I’d ever tried

It was as if the life I thought I knew had suddenly turned on me and lied 

Did nothing count as honourable? Was there no truth in what was said?

Was it no lie when I overheard you saying that you wished for me to be dead?


Under this arch, do you come to find me in the arms of a waiting death?

Do you wish I plead for life? Or should I plead for breath?

No, not either! You know me too well, I ask not what you can give

My dying wish is not for love from you, but yes, you are perceptive. 


My memory may have eroded but love was never a friend of mine

My illusion did nothing to excite me. It was dull, it was tedious, it was anodyne

Failure was the key. To fail without love is not failure, it is a death that awaits

Life was an illusion. Death leads into a form of life, where…Is it death that life creates? 


A wretched and torn memory watches over the body as it fades away

It has always been like that and that’s how it will always stay

Any strength you had will become a weakness as your dust returns to earth

It was not you, it was life that started to kill me from the day my mother gave birth.  

© 2023 Daniel Kemp All rights reserved  

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About Daniel Kemp

At the age of seventy-six, Daniel Kemp has started his second year of studying the science of Psychology at the Open University. He is a member of The Society of Authors and also a bestselling writer. However, in early September 2025, he was diagnosed with cancer. He is now in palliative care at home, being looked after by his ex-wife. When he was writing his novels, he enjoyed writing stories that appealed to those who liked challenging themselves to solve mysteries that were set out before their eyes, but they couldn't. His introduction to the world of espionage and mystery happened at an early age when his father was employed by the War Office in Whitehall, London, at the end of WWII. However, it wasn’t until after his father died that he showed any interest in anything other than himself! On leaving academia he took on many roles in his working life: a London police officer, mini-cab business owner, pub tenant and licensed London taxi driver, but never did he plan to become a writer. Nevertheless, after a road traffic incident left him suffering from PTSD and effectively—out of paid work for four years, he wrote and self-published his first novel —The Desolate Garden. Within three months of publication, that book was under a paid option to become a $30 million film. The option lasted for six years until distribution became an insurmountable problem for the production company. All ten of his novels are now published by Next Chapter Publishing Company which has added an edition titled The Heirs And Descendants Collection, which holds all four books of that series, alongside an edition titled The Lies And Consequences Collection which contains all four volumes of that series. He is the recipient of rave reviews from a prestigious Manhattan publication and described as—the new Graham Green—by a highly placed executive of Waterstones Books, for whom he did a countrywide tour of book signing events. He has also appeared on 'live' television in the UK publicising his first novel. Less
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10 Responses to The Mist Of Sleep

  1. Beautiful, Daniel. The truth in the last two lines!

  2. Hi Danny, this is a very powerful poem. Very beautiful too. Have a lovely weekend.

  3. That is very powerful Danny and emotive. When are we going to see your poems in a book? ♥

  4. Daniel Kemp's avatar Daniel Kemp says:

    I might give it try but I would be lost at how to lay them out so they look inviting. Then there’s the formatting, I think I would be useless at that.

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