Suburban Nocturne

A vertical sliver pries into the doorway, a beam from the watchful eye in the hall While amber stars in cages, captives in lampposts, shout prophecies beneath the moon Obscured by trees Their cries filter into the window And uniform basketball players with fake simulated faces run improbably about my TV Defying the nighttime but not their fate, programmed by someone not so different from me Ones and zeroes Light and darkness Somewhere sleeps the faithful Christian homeless man with fatigues and a fatigued face Obscured by shelter If I do not see him, I pray someone else will If I cannot give to him, I pray someone else can His chipped Styrofoam cup no longer empty of dollar bills Ones and zeroes Light in the darkness