Watching Green Glowing

By: shira

I sat seeing everything
Tuesday night on the porch
Inside phones rang and outside I sang
The loudest I ever did inside my head

The streetlamp shone a flickered chance at light
Wanting to light the whole neighborhood up
I watched it try
The yellow light turned weak green
Sick with mosquitoes meeting above it
And queasy, while the moon had no chance in helping

So it glowed a green
A darker green than ever
And I stayed outdoors to watch it
I couldn’t go inside where I'd look right through white light
Because this new one was deeper than before
And I could see the world on the other side of it

I listened for cars coming home this late
People retreating from night appointments
Don’t hit the mailbox old man
I’ll have to replace it again
And use the fifty cents you pay to buy a green bulb for my room

Inside from way up here
Up the faded stairs on the second floor
I see the top of the streetlamp
It’s glowing sickly way up there amidst the moonrise
For a color that means fresh and new things
I blink back drops of laughter
At the silly green that I watch glowing