Nocturne
Nightbirds sing in the holly tree just outside my window
a trilling ode to darkness, then call and response
my old dog snores through his long ShihTzu body
stretched out on the rug
one by one the houses up and down the street
go dark, bedtime stories read, dishes done
and the small dragon that lives in the Cooper Creek culvert
stirs herself on her pile of gleaming stones
begins her nightwatch, spreads her sturdy wings
and glides along the rooftops, keeping her red eyes peeled
and her fires stoked
