#middleofthenight
A long time after bedtime
When it's very late
When even dogs dream
And there's deep sleep
Breathing through the house
When the doors are locked
And the curtains drawn
And the shops are dark
And the last train's gone
And there's no more traffic in the street
Because everyone's asleep
Then....
The window cleaner comes
To the main shop fronts
And polishes the glass
In the street-lit dark
And a big truck rumbles past
On it's way to the dump
Loaded with the last
Of the day's trash
On the twentieth floor
Of the office tower
There's a lighted window
And high up there
Another night cleaner's
Vacuuming the floor
Working nights on her own
While her children sleep at home
And down in the dome of the observatory
The astronomer who's waited all day for the dark
Is watching the good black sky at last
For stars and moons
And spikes of light
Through her telescope
In the middle of the night
While everybody sleeps
At the bakery
The bakers in their floury clothes
Mix dough in machines
For tomorrow's loaves of bread
And out by the gate
Rows of parked vans sit
For their drivers to come
And take newly baked
Bread to the shops
For the time when the
Bread eaters wake
Across the town at the hospital
Where the nurses watch in the dim-lit wards
Someone very old shuts their eyes
And dies
Breathes their very last breath
On their very last night
Yet not very far away on another floor
After months of waiting
A new baby's born
And the mother and father
Hold the baby and smile
And the baby looks up
And the world's just begun
But still, everybody sleeps
Now through the silent station
Past the empty shops
And the office towers
Past the sleeping streets
And the hospital
A train with no windows
Goes rattling by
And inside the train the sorters sift
Urgent letters and packets on the late night shift
So tomorrow's mail will arrive in time
At the towns and villages down the line
And the mother
With the wakeful child in her arms
Walking up and down
And up and down
And up and down
The room
Hears the train as it passes by
And the cats in the yard
And the night owl's flight
And hums hushabye hushabye
We should sleep now
You and I
It's late and time to close your eyes
It's the middle of the night.
Apr 27, 2020
Apr 27, 2020 at 9:27 PM UTC
the moon started
calling to me
tonight,
from out
of my deep slumber.
whispering silently,
'come on out,
visit with me
just for a bit,
sit with me for a spell.'
she said.
had to get up,
out from under my warm covers,
out from my warm bed,
to step outside ,
to commune with her again.
in this quiet,still
this silent, part of this night.
Just me,
and the moon,
and
this glorious cold night!
May 9, 2022
May 9, 2022 at 7:13 AM UTC
I didn't ask for this
silence,
building in intensity
until it is the
only
sound
heard,
crescendoing with
vibrations
under my skin,
in my skull.
I'm afraid of now.
quiet
It embraces me
so tightly I can't
breathe,
reflects back nothing
but hollowed out dreams
laughing
at me.
The quiet echoes through my room.
Outside, the normal hum of traffic is
muffled.
A hush has wrapped the world in its arms.
Memories of noise
flash
through my mind
only to be
blanketed
by a heavy fog of
silence.
There is no sound
in my world.
Will I ever again?
hear
Mar 6
Mar 6, 2026 at 11:41 AM UTC