The dusky chill
tickles my bare arms,
nips playfully at my finger-tips
and blearily settles into the labyrinth
of concrete and overgrown grasses
during an evening walk

Overhead, streaks of peach and plum
paint a watercolor twilight.
This expansive umbrella shades pollen-drunk blossoms
whose drowsy eyelids flutter in treetop cradles

As sparrows tuck themselves in at night
the dull humming of a sleepless town continues
Tires crunch against gravel
A revving engine roars
the distant wails of an ambulance siren
steal a silent prayer from my lips

Raucous laughter wafts through open windows
Beer cans crinkle
rusted car doors slam
and electric scooters purr and whirr past me.

Traffic lights nod on and off
blinking their green and red eyes
in the eternal wakefulness of an insomniac city