Night Life in Chaos

The seconds on my watch, mechanically ticking, pushing my hand

The children write, their minds filled with flashing images of future times

A wolf tells its sad night song to the glowing full moon

A hunter trods on the head of a viper as its venom rushes through his burning veins

The rain splashes an African mother while she bathes her dark child in the stream

A runaway narrowly escapes the grasp of the one who had stalked her

The police drags and innocent man from his house as the culprit watches from his bedroom window

A group of teens jump from a burning building and run as the flames spread to the roof of the next house

The door creaks slowly open as a dark figure emerges

Patched blue jeans hang on the line to dry

A child is rushed into the E.R. held by her sister who is only nine

The mother works double shifts thinking only of her busy schedule

A boy throws a knife at his door

The flight attendant radios for help while the pilot bleeds freely from a gunshot wound

A young couple is punished for making out beneath the branches of a sheltering oak

The cashier hears screams from the theater she works

A newborn puppy snuggles with its mother in a warm blanket by the stove

A house is swept into the whirlwind of tornado alley

An Indian child picks Jasmine for her mother’s grave near a silent and forgotten temple

She smiles at the little white flower in her hand and places it on the unmarked tomb.

A three year old runs through the grass with a rose in her hair

A farmer sits out on his porch and watches his grandson count the stars

A lady gently rocks her infant to sleep

and I pick up my pencil to begin another poem