Underwear hugs my hips Cotton restraining southern curves My t-shirt drapes over northern slopes Its hem the equator all around I step onto the porch Breathe air after fallen rain Warm feet reveling In the chill beneath Train wheels over rattling rails The soundtrack of the neighborhood Moving boxes on a journey From here through there and back Thunder takes its cue Lightning splits the sky Dark clouds exposed By sudden spotlight I sink into a lawn chair Hugging a knee to my chest My other leg dangling Toes in liquid Arctic ice Midnight has come and gone One day now another All souls dreaming but mine Standing still as time moves I claim the night The plum-colored sky The dark parked cars The silent homes I drink in the fresh scent It filters through Crisp and cleansing As rain soaks into soil The cloth curtain rises Two round actresses appear Making their debut An evening show for absent eyes Pores drink in the breeze Nature permeates body and soul I rise and give myself Every curve and every crevice To the night that swallows me whole.