Noises Of The Night Poem by Madeleine Wolf

The types of sounds
You hear at 1: 30 am
When you should be in REM
Are amazing on our campus grounds.

Lying in bed
Facing the wall
Your ears attune to a melody
Not one man could call.

Sounds playing the music
Of the throws of young love.
A quiet creaking
Someone softly speaking
Could be mistaken for a morning dove.
But is it the sound of love-making,
Or hearts breaking?

Tantrums of the night
Outside possibly a fight
Lashings of obscenities
Speak of foreign serenity

Quieter sounds
Allow the mind to wander.
A key turned slightly more.
“Did I remember to lock our door? ”

The slight click
Of a knob turned quick.
Was there fear
Behind the tear of the girl passed by
Hours before?

Then there are the loud vocalizations
Maybe a person’s initiations.
Did that boy who cried out
Incomprehensibly
Get hurt very easily?

The symphony of the stereo
A bunch of “heys” and “hos”
Makes you wonder where the
Off button is on that radio.

The wavelengths
Produced on our station
Give you strengths
That go beyond
The imagination.

An alertness
That seems endless.

The laughter of the dark
Lulls you into a sleep
Where no crash, bang, boom
Can make you hear a peep.