there are horns
tires screeching
a shout or two
dogs barking
a rooster crows
somewhere
toward morning
then light
fills the sky
night
dreams can betray
dreams
can betray
expose
hidden desires
best left
covered
especially
in the night
3:30am in Maltepe, Istanbul
the tea
grows cold
as the night
wears on
waiting
for morning
one night
at a time
what the night holds
memories
of what was
is
could have been
this
is what
the night holds
A Papago song of the night
In the great night my heart will go out,
Toward me the darkness comes rattling,
In the great night my heart will go out.
translated by Frances Densmore & an unidentified interpreter
somewhere out there
no moon
on this side
of the house
just darkness
and a cat
crying
somewhere
out there
waiting for dawn
by the shore
chill on bones
birds in air
waves against rock
wind on face
soon
night will end
and dawn
will light the world
again
night
night
deep, still
a long way
till dawn
talking to the moon
standing
on the balcony
shoulders hunched
against the cold
night air
erasing
all thoughts
of yesterdays
ignoring
tomorrows
numb
to what passes
for today
talking
my mind
to the moon
from Lady Midnight Songs of the Four Seasons: Autumn 3
Autumn night at the open window
makes bed-curtains float and sway.
I gaze up at the bright moon, send
such love a thousand radiant miles.
translated by David Hinton
Leonard Durso 