A Child’s Guide to the Night

When evening begins to settle over the town
 Windows turn pale yellow, the edges
 Of bicycle spokes and outdoor grills soften, 

And daylight lingers to bless the grass
 And trees and transform a boy’s hand
 Into gray before his eyes.

All creation is caught now
 Between two worlds, a place
 Where children long to stay –

Even as their houses, like bulky ships,
 Are casting off into the night, even
 As their mothers are calling, calling them home.