POEM - 3:00 A.M.

A dog howls, once, twice
Low & plaintive
A cry of loneliness that carries over
The silent street
Dark rooftops

Footsteps echo on the sidewalk
One soul moving through the night
Merge with the dog’s howl
Which is louder now, more insistent
To break the silence
and be heard

Lonely at 3:00 A.M.
Lonely in a crowd
Lonely in the marriage bed
Lonely in a church pew
Lonely on the front lines of war
Lonely in a hospital room
Lonely in an unmarked grave

Lonely
Lonely
Lonely

I roll over, awake now
Wishing I could open the window
And howl back at the dog