Venkata Majeti (Aurora, Illinois)

It's a mid winter night
The clock reads 2:01
Obviously, everyone's asleep
And, of course, I'm awake.
Awaken, I don't know if
By the quiet but all the same
Distinct sounds of a distant train.
By the water boiler next door
Heating, quiet cooling, heating again
By the discrete bursts from
Heating vents, bringing warm comforts
By the background music of droplets
Of rain - on the roof, glass windows outside
Or by the inexplicably silent rays
Of light from a bulb on through the night

Who knows, but for the uninvited guest
That came in and opened the suitcases?

And then
A house within a house speaks
Did you hear that?