In the dead of night desertion--By John Daleiden--United States

In the dead of night desertion
(Poetry Form--Cinqku)

nightmares
waken me—
tremulous shakes
envelop my drenched sheets
each night

pictures
of you haunt
my sleepless nights—
trembling, I see the stairs
empty

I stare
into dark,
waiting to hear
your voice, see your bright smile—
nothing

I creep
back to bed—
the void, dread filled
with relentless desire . . .
I groan

John Daleiden moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2007 where he founded The West Valley Writer’s Critique Group in Avondale, AZ at Gangplank (http://www.meetup.com/West-Valley-Writers-Critique-Group/). He also moderates other central Phoenix writing groups. Wind in the Reeds: A Collection of Poems, Valley View Press, is the title of his first book. He is retired after 43 years of teaching Language Arts courses in Public schools in Iowa and Illinois. John currently works as a freelance fiction and non-fiction editor in the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix, Arizona.