Restless

The air is restless tonight. 

The flags show that the wind blows from the south. 

And it's warm. 

Fourty-three degrees an hour ago.

Thirty-three degrees now. 

With a mist of rain. 

It's the kind of night that's

unsettled. 

Dry leaves and pieces of paper 

that have been still in ditches

are pushed across the road,

making shadows that might or might not be a deer.

I don't like nights like tonight. 

It feels unsettled. 

I feel unsettled. 

My thoughts are hard to focus

but at the same time, 

they're more focused 

than I'm comfortable with. 

My thoughts,

like the shadows

go "bump" in the night.

And the wind pushes them

around and around and around

until I'm exhausted

and fall into an unsettled

restless

sleep.

hbk