Last Night

Last night: one of those nights where I got my second wind at about eleven pm, after wilting seriously around dinner time.
And then.
The machine clattered relentlessly like a demonic train.

And in the pauses: Late night radio.
roots music
poetry
low measured voices
slow country accents
soothing, careful,

And through the open window
the cooling air
creeping in,
away from the blue clouds in the dying light.

A curlew calls.