A Winter Night at Grandma’s (standard:poetry, 268 words)
Author: rmarston	Added: Feb 19 2010	Views/Reads: 2746/2	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This winter night is full of sound: Cold gusts of wind that shriek around And through the open window til Two blankets don't keep out the chill; A restless creaking of the floor; The sudden banging of a door, That interrupts a muffled snore. Othe

This winter night is full of sound: Cold gusts of wind that shriek
around And through the open window til Two blankets don't keep out the 
chill; A restless creaking of the floor; The sudden banging of a door, 
That interrupts a muffled snore. 

Other sounds arise and fade: The snapping of a wind-whipped shade Up
against the window pane To flap and flutter free again; Occasionally 
several distant Neighbor dogs exchange insistent Barks that echo hill 
to hill, Then reluctantly grow still. 

But stronger echoes soon begin - Adding to the chill within - Of ghostly
voices, hoots and mutters, Somewhere just outside the shutters. Then at 
last the owlish riot Ends, and all is peace and quiet. 

And yet there is another sound, Closer now than bird or hound, But
unlike that of hound or bird, Needing silence to be heard, A measured 
sound, hypnotic in it's Steady pacing through the minutes, Ticking off, 
like counted sheep, The seconds leading into sleep, Tiny sounds that 
seem to make It difficult to stay awake.... 

The howling of the wind has died. Now I can hear the brook beside The
road as it goes rippling by... A perfect winter lullaby. The movement 
of the water, swift And pleasant, sets the mind adrift To follow where 
the currents go. At length, within the steady flow The sound of many 
voices, low And whispery seem to appear Like conversation to the ear. 
But not a word is clear to me, Nor is there anyone to see... Sounds 
like voices...close at hand... That I can...almost... understand... If 
I weren't...,,so sleepy..... And..............


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