tired by his responsibilities , egerius sometimes found sleep evaded him for a while ; he could n't stop his mind obsessively listing the tasks he had still left undone , running on without him when he tried to think of something , of anything ( a phrase of homer , a dance tune he 'd heard , the burnished curve of a gold earring ) to still it , he could hold on to it for only a few moments before the incessant listing resurfaced and swept it away .