CLOUDS LOOK DIFFERENT AT NIGHT
gary jurechka
Sitting on my porch steps at three in the morning,
peering into the heavens, I notice how
clouds look different at night
wisps and streaks of shady white splotches
gray daubs and dabs barely moving
in an indigo black sky, moon obscured, but
a sparkle glimmer of a star here and there
and it's late
and I'm out of cigarettes, out of gas, car needs
fixing anyway, and the house needs cleaning and
the dishes washing and letter need answering and
bills have to be paid and I should be writing and
I want to be a better parent and a better person
and I want to be with the woman I live, the soul
match of a passionate heart and I want to do
something that matters, I want to be more and
I want to live forever and there's so much
that needs doing or changing or resolving
but it's three in the morning
and it's late,
I should be sleeping instead of
sitting here on the cold stone steps,
breathing the brisk spring night air,
full of wonder, content to stare up into the
dark heavens, the only thought in my mind is how
clouds look different at night.
