Night Sounds
Sometimes
in the deep-dark-between hours,
when curdling worries
and prickling fears
pinch and poke me
from sleeping to sleepless,
I find comfort in the night sounds.
Sometimes I hear
the distant hoots
of a barred owl calling,
“Whooo cooks for you?”
threading through the trees,
the merest whisper of a sound.
Sometimes two owls
swoop in closer,
engage in a spirited duet,
a raucous whirlwind
of cascading calls,
grumbles and hoots.
Sometimes I hear
the far-off yipping cries
of a pack of wandering coyotes.
Or only the crickets
chirping in the night,
setting the air abuzz.
Then sometimes,
there are nights when I wake
to silent darkness
beyond our windows, and
the soft rhythm
of you,
breathing beside me.
I turn and nestle
into your warmth
and slowly,
my inhale mingled with yours,
our exhales twined,
I drift back to sleep.
©Molly Hogan, 2020 (draft)
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Bridget Magee of wee word fame at her blog, wee words for wee ones. She’s sharing a delightful post filled with all things orange.
Nix the comfort zone 
The reverberate language in this poem is a sensory delight: “a raucous whirlwind of cascading calls”. 🙂
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Thanks, Bridget. We’ve been simultaneously entranced and amazed by the recent variety of owl calls outside our windows at night.
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This is so beautiful, Molly. I love that we hear the voices of the night. I haven’t done this at night, but often on my walks during the day, I focus my mind on all of the sounds I’m hearing. It’s my meditation. I listen to the wonderful life all around me.
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It is like a meditation, isn’t it? It’s my new strategy for falling back asleep.
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Loved the imagery.
On Fri, Oct 9, 2020, 5:12 AM Nix the comfort zone wrote:
> mbhmaine posted: ” Night Sounds Sometimes in the deep-dark-between > hours,when curdling worriesand prickling fearspinch and poke me from > sleeping to sleepless,I find comfort in the night sounds. Sometimes I > hearthe distant hootsof a barred owl calling,“Whooo cooks” >
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Thanks, Cheryl!
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This line caught me at the start: “deep-dark-between hours.” Between waking and sleeping, fears and dreams, being powerful and powerless. It all reminds me of being a child at my grandparents’ home in the country, when insects sang all night to soothe my fears of the old cemetery and possible ghosts right across the dirt road. I love this, Molly.
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Fran, your memories sound like a beautiful picture book!
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Thanks for this great poem, Molly. I loved the owl’s call, threading through the trees. And the ending, very warm and calm. I enjoy these Night Sounds…
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it. The night sounds are a huge comfort to me and a source of joy.
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I love this poem for its imagery and that romantic ending. I love hearing the barred owl in the early morning hours.
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We heard one yesterday afternoon when walking in the woods. Such a wonderful sound 🙂
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Molly, while I am not familiar with the owl and coyotes’ calls, I love the crickets calling to each other. Your poem pleasantly surprised me with the ending that moved to a beautiful love poem.
“my inhale mingled with yours,
our exhales twined,”
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That ending actually surprised me when I wrote it, Carol. If you want to hear the owls, check out their calls here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds
They make such a variety of sounds–the duet is amazing and soooo loud when it’s right outside your window!
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So full of sensory images. I love this picture of a noisy but peaceful night. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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Thanks, Ruth! We’ve been enjoying all those night sounds lately. Once the windows close for winter, we can’t hear as much.
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Love your “love poem.” It’s heart-warming that you share the connection you have with Kurt. “curdling worries” Molly, you rock the descriptive and novel (to avoid cliche) adjectives. Your wordsmithing brings your night alive. My voice memo of encouragement is on its way via text.
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Thanks, Dan! I’m so glad you liked “curdling worries”, it was a late revision. 🙂 I’ve responded to your voice memo–thanks for sharing!
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The sensorial tone of your poem is gently unfolded for your readers Molly. There is an inherent completeness in your sharing of these night moments. This is a poem that nudges me, causing me to revisit lines and words and savour them. You have taken us in to the dark in the nicest possible way.
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Thanks, Alan. A pleasant trip to dwell in the darkness makes a nice change these days!
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What a beautiful tribute of a poem, Molly. Your language is superb and so comforting. It’s those loved ones, and those gentle nature sounds and silences which bring comfort at the moment.
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Thanks, Sally! I find so much comfort in those night sounds.
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I love how you and your sleeping buddy are part of the night…it’s so loving and lovely, even with the coyote calls. I feel such a part of the natural world when I read this. I can hear the crickets.
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Thanks, Linda. Now that the fall nights are so much colder, we seldom have the windows open and I miss those night sounds.
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So lovely. All the sensory details create such vivid moments. Love the owl stanzas especially, since I always thrill to hear them. The whole becomes a night lullaby as you settle into sleep by the end.
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Thanks, Jama. Hearing owls always thrills me as well. We’ve been delighted by how active they’ve been lately–even when it wakes us up.
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This is absolutely gorgeous. There is so much to love about the beautiful language and the movement from sleeplessness to night sounds to mingled breaths and sleep.
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Thanks, Liz. Listening to night sounds has replaced writing acrostics for the word insomnia as my go-to for getting back to sleep when I’m wakeful. It’s much more rewarding!
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The sound images in the poem are so detailed, Molly. The sense of comfort in the final lines is beautiful.
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Thanks, Laura. I’ve been amazed by the variety of calls barred owls can make. Prior to this year, we’ve mostly only heard the typical calls. It’s been such fun to listen to all the vocalizing outside our windows.
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It’s a love poem for so much, Molly, but nestling next to that one you love is a special ending. I’ve never lived in such a place except when we stayed at our mountain cabin where we heard the owls and coyotes especially. Beautiful and heartwarming, too.
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“Curdling worries and prickling fears” — right on target. But, the mingled inhalation rings true as well, thank goodness. Thanks for the peek at this bit of loveliness!
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