The kitchen light was on,

So that their shoulders

Were easy to make out-

Splattered with light specks

And dust you only see in the dark.

---

"We should go to sleep."

"We'll wake him up."

"But I'm tired, Henry. Really."

"I know, it's been a long day."

---

Upstairs, the floorboards creaked

And they jumped,

And the light shifted onto their faces.

"Only a few more minutes, Mary."

---

A toilet flushed. More creaking,

And an excited voice floated

Down the stairs. "I did potty!"

---

And in the kitchen, two sighs

Stretched into the light-dark-night.

---

"Go to bed Daddy. Please."