sleep

by Bruce Morton

The shepherd has taken leave,
a no account. Wild
and wooly are the sheep,
coutless to the nth power—
flocking sheep, herds, hordes,
at warp speed,
insulating the crimped brain
from respite.

Instead,

03/01/2014 - Birds do it, bees do it...yet science still can't answer the basic question: why do we sleep?  Every creature on the planet sleeps - from giant humpback whales to teeny fruit flies.  What does it do for us, and what happens when we go without it?  We take a peek at iguanas sleeping with one eye open, get in bed with a pair of sleep-deprived new parents, and eavesdrop on the uneasy dreams of rats.