Night

By: Husam (Sam) Salman

When the rest of the day has done,

Past the ushering evening tides,

Of set dinners and ceremony,

That were bridged from the afternoon lull,

Past teatime,

Far from the mid-afternoon Summer sun,

Of many pointing thorns of flowers bloom,

And the buzzing with the breeze. 

Breaking that moment of sleep,

Tossing the tussled linens aside,

and feet slip in slippers - floor. 

Pop a fistful of pills - vitamins and more,

Jostle the system awake - coffee,

A hop in the shower,

A fresh change of clothes,

And a spring in my step that won't go away. 

The tap tap tap of fingers on the keyboard,

Duke Ellington on the radio,

Staring at the world out the window,

At meadows of trees older than dad. 

Out there the hefty clouds below across skies,

Playing peekaboo with the sun,

Until she too decides to sleep for yet another night.