The Man with Night Sweats - Jenna Pelosi

Thom Gunn
The Man with Night Sweats

In this poem, I was able to find myself, not to the words as much as the situation I felt the speaker was in as I read on. Often times I will wake up, either in the morning , or in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, completely distraught from the dreams, or nightmare I just went through. “I wake up cold, I who prospered through dreams of heat, Wake to their residue, Sweat and a slinging sheet” (Gunn, pg. 487). A lot of our subconscious emotions, fears and thoughts are expressed through our dreams or nightmares. I am able to find myself in this poem because, lately, I have felt that my whole world is crashing down on me, and as the nights pass, the more intense my dreams become. As the true message behind the poem, I am still unclear on because I feel that too much of my personal experiences are interfering with that of the speakers.