I love the quiet in deepest night,
love being the only mind awake.
My little street, my small hill-top
settle down into dream, at peace.
The town around them is also silent,
motionless – except
as I breathe in the welcoming dark,
I become aware of other nocturnals:
footfalls and scurries, wing flaps,
murmurs, tiny and brief.
Insects, reptiles, birds; my own cat, gazing
out the window; a guard dog’s distant bark.
And those others vibrating the air:
friendly presences not in body.
They too have their place, their time.
I feel their goodwill; they don’t intrude.
(My cat – any cat – would send malevolence
packing: with her mind. I’d scarcely notice.)
I make myself a delicious drink,
perhaps a snack. I begin to write.
Written for FridayWritings #202: What I Love About the Dark at Poets and Storytellers United.
I love the happiness you find in the dark and early hours - they certainly can be comforting - Jae
ReplyDeleteI think some of us do have a need for large doses of solitude.
DeletePS I've just decided that the 4-line verses I had made it a bit too jumpy to suit the subject matter, so have turned them into couplets. (I only wrote it a couple of hours ago, so it was still 'cooking' when posted..)
DeleteNights are a wonderful place to be — at any stage, at any age. Some nights you sit by the cliff, gazing at the stars, waiting for that one shooting light to make a wish. Some nights you stay at the bar till they ask you to leave. And on other nights, you find yourself alone on the terrace, dreaming about what might have happened in that same spot a hundred thousand years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt’s only at night that such thoughts feel possible. - Enjoy the delicious drink....
Oh, your comment is almost a poem itself! I would love to see you turn it into one.
DeleteThanks so much for the thoughts. Now that you have given me this idea, I will copy and take this back to my scrap book- if I am able to compose one, I will come and link that
DeleteGreat!
DeleteYes, I love the early time too. And, yes, there are always nocturnal noises. Love them all, except the rats.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky enough not to have rats.
DeleteI relish the nights I actually dream-sleep poems ... it happens more often than one might think. A notepad and pencil next to my bed. And another lady who shares my love of dark .. of quiet.
ReplyDeleteAh, you are a poet through and through!
DeleteI am a night person. It is my time to write. To luxuriate in that dead quiet. It's "me time"
ReplyDeleteYes, that's it exactly, for me too!
DeleteI'm a night owl too, and your poem resonated with me, Rosemary :-)
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be quite a lot of us around! I'm starting to think it may be a peculiarity of poets.
DeleteThis was a delicious bit of poetry to sink myself into. Absolutely captured a feeling of peace and subtle enchantment
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad!
DeletePlenty of things to do the trick, but darkness is one of the best triggers, eh?
ReplyDelete*Smile*
DeleteI am a morning person...up before dawn everyday...still hear the sounds and the scratching ... and sometimes I feel a poem arrive!!! Your poem evokes so many feelings!!!
ReplyDeleteThat must have its own joys to offer. I subscribe to Dave Bonta's 'Morning Porch,' as I think perhaps you do too, and I know that there is much I am missing out on. For instance, I have seen very few sunrises in my 86 years. But I am as I am, so it's just as well I enjoy it, LOL!
DeleteThe silence and coziness of night writing! Love your descriptions, Rosemary. (Sara)
ReplyDeleteSoiunds as if you know it too! (Smile.)
Delete