Chair

I wake up in the chair
By your bed in the night
You're still asleep
With your toys, tucked in tight

My legs have gone stiff
Muscles steeped with cold
Evidence that earlier
You wouldn't sleep when you were told

You hadn't had a nightmare
That seemed fairly clear
And it wasn't that the dark
Had filled you with any fear

You were just being clingy
Demanding hugs from both of us
And yet after you got them
You carried on with your fuss

Fighting and complaining
You would not lie down at all
Until finally you gave it up
Staying still in dissenting sprawl

And as you slowly drifted off
I gave comfort by your side
Until I sank into the chair
To catch up on sleep denied