When the Nights Are Long

May oboes fringe the roads you roam,

a string quartet arranged around each

intersection and traffic lights timed

to its movements, every car horn

trumpeting the blues. May music line

like invisible staffs the space

between each body. May a choir

harmonize your arrival home,

knife striking a chopping block the slide

of fiddlestick on nylon string,

newscaster’s chatter diminished,

his everynight blather switched for

lullaby, for serenade to shape

your dreams of different days to come.


Brian Simoneau is the author of the poetry collections No Small Comfort (Black Lawrence Press, 2021) and River Bound (C&R Press, 2014). His poems have appeared in Boston Review, Cincinnati Review, Colorado Review, The Georgia Review, Iowa Review, Salamander, Waxwing, and other journals. Originally from Lowell, Massachusetts, he lives near Boston with his family. His very most favorite sweet is the chocolate chip cookie.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here