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