Between Houses

Bedroom Window (Part One)

My prayers were said (at 10:30 PM)

and the neighbors were at rest-

(so it seemed, their lights were off

anyway, and the street-Cayuga,

outside our second story ledge,

somewhat vacant). And the night,

the night with its rich shinning

arch lights seeped through

our attic bedroom window;

and I could hear, hear

(through the stillness)

mother downstairs,

her presence, sounds of her voice

footsteps, they calmed me,

helped me get to sleep.....

Tires (Part Two)

Between the three houses

a wired fence stood

and trees and chimneys

and arch lights in the front

and the hot, hot summer

was just bearable-

(especially in the attic bedroom)

I often heard the sounds of tires

going by: wet, dry, screaming

tires, tires, tires-it made me

feel alive, almost tranquilized

me to a faster sleep.