The Night Shepherds

There is a common remedy for those who wish to sleep
They recommend to close your eyes and count imagined sheep
Just lie down and think of them lined up in single file
And count them bouncing one by one over a farmer's stile.

Sheep are very docile many hopeful sleepers find
And easily controlled by a less than wakeful mind
But yet there is a number who find the task a toll
Which does not help them sleep at all, because they lose control.

Their sheep are unco-operative: they do not jump on cue
They're likely to do other things that sheep just should not do
They play leap-frog and some hang-glide or tunnel underground
Or make the counting difficult by shuffling around.

So, many lie awake at night and hear the ticking clock
Counting down the hours as they struggle with their flock
All alone they battle long through till the morning's light
The sad and unsuccessful sleepless shepherds of the night.

Barely awake they suffer by the sleepless light of day
By night they try to slumber while their sheep cavort and play
Their woollen nerves warped, wefted on fragile mental looms
They alternate sleep therapy with doctor's waiting rooms.

So, if you are the fortunate and get your eight hours sleep
Be grateful for your fortune and your well disported sheep
And give a thought for others, who are not so kindly blessed
Whose sheep are so unruly and whose sleep is so distressed.