Friday, March 20, 2015

The Night We Know (3) Watching


(image credit)
Our children bathed
And brushed their teeth
Reluctantly,
Went off to bed
Questioning why,
Why this-and-that
When friends of theirs
Can sleep so late
At night and eat
After they brush
Their teeth.  Because,
We say, the night
Brings creatures out
Of ghoulish green
And tarnished toads;
The arched back wolves
Howl to the moon
And frowning clouds,
And batty owls
With eyes so big
They’re bigger than
The trees on which
They perch all night. 
The only way
To guard themselves,
We say, is get
Under the sheets,
Cover themselves
With thick blankets,
Keep their eyes shut
And clasp their hands
And pray to God
For safety now!

Because we have
To have some time
At night to watch
Whatever we
Should care to watch,
However much
We want to snack
So late at night,
And talk and laugh
Our private laugh,
And shed the work
We wore all day
As if it were
A pair of shoes –
And when the film
Makes you afraid
You hold my arm
To ballast you
Back to safety,
And when romance
Turns up the dial
We move in turn,
Embrace the love
We love for now
And always, too.
We thank the Lord
Our children are
As safe and sound
As teddy bear
And hobby horse
And tabby cat
As we want them
Always to be. 
The love we make
At night becomes
A comfort pure
And easy, true
As ambient light
That makes us see
What we desire
To see at night –
The glint of eyes,
These ready lips.

The Night We Know - Part 3: Watching © Ron Villejo

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