Hush

I open my window really wide
so all the wind comes in
And crashes through my room, making
the ghosts shudder and whisk away into the corners
where the shadows stand still and dark.

I watch the streetlights spill
slippery stripes of silver on the sidewalk
where cursing silhouettes dodge and dash
between cold splashes of cloud tears.

I climb up in a high tree,
get all shivery and rained-on
with black leaves slapping my arms
And great envelopes of nighttime landing
in my lap.

Then I huddle back
my hair drips and my fingers are lost in an iceberg,
my nose froze more than Alaska
But my smile is stitched on with puddly permanency.

I wink at the ghosts before
I fall asleep.