The Right to Sleep

A poem by Achuthan Panikath

Tue Mar 10 2026

And again at sunset we ask ourselves,
'Am I a good soul?'
Our delicate fabric holds the stretch
As we lawyer up to reason out
That we deserve to sleep tonight.

But the ones I fear are the ones that sleep
Without the question; without a cause;
As megalomaniacal amorals reign
We must ask and answer, unite to define:
Who deserves to sleep tonight.