Night Fear

Why crawl to the window in half-light,
The trees’ shadows propelling flight
With night jaws swaying in cottonwoods?

Death is all around, we know,
Each fleshy mammal waiting for
The fatal pinprick.

Moon’s fullness seems to pull us up,
Toward the windows,
Now on our knees, now
On our legs cooled by
Midnight sweat.

Nothing seems dangerous, just the throat
Reacting to unnatural thoughts,
The hideous dreams of faces too directly
Violent to be shut out by radio’s quiet jazz.

Turning on a light would invite
The night’s eyes into our homes, so
Dark quiet pleads for life, no
Human noise now, please,
No predators welcome.

At this hour, no cars pass by,
Only a distant siren proving
Violence has happened,
Somewhere,
To some thing.