Night Creatures

Gunfire in the night,

the sirens, the screams:

our dreams disturbed,

we throw the sheets back

and make for the window.

We open the curtains

and look into the dark:

the street-lights trump

the stars with sodium,

not LEDS.

A car has crashed -

a street away, or on

the other side of town;

sound travels further

in the dark.

The sirens sing counterpoint

to the crows’ caw

and the owls’ hooting.

We close the curtains

and wish for sleep.