nightfall

Silence is a stranger;
nothing sleeps around me. the floor
creaks, the cat darts about;
A lyric passes through my head,
the ghost of a chord whispers in my ear,
begging to be played aloud.
across the hall, the high whine of a television
pervades the wooden barriers,
the occasional blare of gunfire
emanating from a western film.
on the street, bottles break and
horns honk and garbage trucks grumble,
people plod along, voices come and go at all decibel levels,
people seem to be going somewhere, no matter the blindness of the inky darkness around them,
and ever so softly,
at the end of the street comes the rumble of the rails,
as the subway line rattles on,
just as restless and constant
as I feel right now.