by John Simmons

I woke in the dead of night, as often I do,
lying there in the deep duvet darkness, listening,
listening to shells telling the most dreadful stories
from far away, oceans away, borne on tides
and surging seas under a gunmetal moon,
where the heavy missiles are booming, where
pistol cracks are nothing, nothing unusual
in the rolling roiling tracks of time ticking
over till another dawn might start to break
and make us all forget this present
but, until then, close by, under the steamy
breath of unknown mammal, a howl
upon the middle-night wind, the beating
of a cloaked bird’s wing, the undercover
spy who sees everything despite the smother
of clouds above but here below the window
rattles in frame, shaking to burst free, not alone
in wishing to rock back to the wildness of
night’s inky fingers whose black blots make
marks on the bleached-out skyline of roof
tops and chimney pots that no longer function
except as eerie roosts for the murdering
murmuring crows whose yellow eyes
blink at the bleakness of the city, the owls
in pitiless pursuit, the mice hunted and haunted,
as the collective breath nestles down beneath
white sheets, the breath of those willing to be lost
in dreams and last night, last night still to my surprise
the city foxes were noisy, so excited by the kill.

John Simmons is the co-founder of two influential writing organisations – Dark Angels and 26. He lives in London, England, and is a contributor and editor for Dark Angels: Three Contemporary Poets and And So We Grow (Paekakariki Press, London). His books on writing include We, Me, Them & It, and he’s the author of three novels. His latest pamphlet Berliners was shortlisted for the Live Canon award and was launched at the 2024 Bloomsbury Festival. Instagram/Threads @simmons25248.