I'm sat by my open window, in the middle of the night,
My body on the inside, but feet in the moonlight.
The hushed silence of the world at this time,
Is just as surreal as the moon's soft shine.
It glows so bright, it almost looks like day,
Except all the colours are dark silvers and greys.
No birds sing, no cars drive.
Yet in this silence the world is alive.
My eyes scan for movement, ears searching for a sound.
But the peaceful gaze of stars is all I found.
Then the invading sound of a car shatters the trace,
As movement in the bush makes the small branches dance.
I keep hearing a shuffling, my ears are keen.
But the culprit of the noise can not be seen.
A cat jumped on the fence, by the bush, One of mine?
I can't see who, it's just a shape of the feline.
A louder noise rings out, the shrill call of an owl.
All the night predators are out on the prowl.
Another owl responds with a hoot, or maybe the same one?
It seems the life of the night has just begun.
The shuffling hasn't stopped, but the bush isn't moving,
The cat is long gone, so it's not her doing.
Then a hedgehog runs swiftly across the dim ground,
So it was YOU all this time shuffling around!
Can you hear the owl? Can it hear you?
You're making a lot of noise, what are you up to?
Foraging for food? There's plenty around!
But the owl has gone quiet, it's not making a sound.
You have stopped rustling, the silence has returned.
I saw you run down the garden, now completely unheard.
Did you notice the owl? Are you running to retreat?
You're right, its someone you should avoid to meet.
Your movement turned on the yellow garden light!
But you keep on moving, are you leaving for tonight?
From my window ledge up here,
I watch the story of the night,
Quiet, secret, unnoticed, shrouded in moonlight.
The hedgehog, the owl, the sounds and the light,
Have all now been swallowed back into the thick veil of the night.
