To Get this Girl to Fall Asleep

To get this girl to fall asleep -

this toddler always anxious for adventure -

I have to enter the dream-world with her.

Mostly, I lay down by her side

and intentionally breathe slowly,

pretending to be asleep
to lull her there herself
(though sometimes I get caught in my own snare).

But if I never nod off 

then slowly stand to sneak away,

she detects me

and cries.

I think it's not so much that her physical self

senses my departure

but more that her dream self

knows she never saw me.

So I must lay down again,
and this time, so she can rest assured,
she hooks my head with her arm
and presses her nose up against mine
till the tempting tendrils of sleep

creep around me, pinning me with her,

allowing my mind to enter her dream.

We must play some dream-game together
long enough for her to then drift away
on her own independent spree,
leaving me,
if I have the will,
to stand and shuffle to my own bed,
knowing that,
at approximately 2:36 am,
I will be back
at her beck and wail
to get some dream-ball
off some dream-shelf,
hoping that her leg - now on her pillow -
doesn't mistakenly punt my face.