Laughing Lights

This week, Chuck's email is late... or it's not arrived. Either way, I thought to go back to last week's choices and pick another title. 

enjoy.

Late, late at night, is the time –

Usually after midnight –

When everyone is fast, fast asleep,

Is when the laughing wakes, wakes me up,

And I go, go to the window and look outside.

Into the darkness of the night, night, I see

The lights of the garden where there were none

Before.

Curiosity gets the better of me, me

And I tip-toe past down the hallway in my slippers,

Past my parents’ door, down, down the stairs,

Out to the back garden where the laughing, laughing

Is louder, louder and sweeter, sweeter

Than before.

Little, little hands pull me into their games,

Their dances, dances, and twinkling music,

And it’s fun for hours, hours on end!

Then, I wake up and I’m back, back in bed and

Mum is shaking me awake, asking why my slippers

Are wet.

For a long time after that first, first night,

I go and see my friends in the garden,

Where the laughing lights are every night, night

After midnight when everyone is asleep,

And their music starts, and they begin to laugh out

At me to come downstairs,

To join them.

One morning, I brush, brush my hair to find my ears

Aren’t the same, same as they used to be.

They are long, long and pointed!

Quickly, I hide, hide them with my hair as Mum comes

Into my room, room asking if I’m ready for school;

Like nothing is wrong.

Little, little things like this keep showing up,

And I keep, keep going out to the laughing lights

Late, late at night to dance, dance with them all

In the garden, in the rings of lights until dawn,

Until I go, go back to bed, keeping my secret

Like they asked me to.

Then one night, I wake up and there’s no, no more

Laughing or lights from the garden.

I look, look out of my bedroom window and find

Nothing but darkness in the garden, garden.

Running down, down to where my friends were,

I look, look for them!

“They are gone, gone.” Mum’s voice says behind me.

I turn crying as they don’t understand how nice, nice they were.

“Dad, mowed the lawn today and they went away.” She took my

Hand, hand and took me inside back to my bedroom,

She tucked me into bed, and left on my night light.

I cried myself to sleep.

Summer came, came and I was woken again by laughter

After midnight and I rushed to the window to see them all

There waiting for me.

I ran down, down to them and they greeted me happily.

My parents were behind me as the fairies of the garden

Took me away, away and let me live, live with them.

Just as they, they were going to let me do

Before.

This time, they didn’t give my parents a choice, choice

This time, the lights wouldn’t return,

And I knew, knew they’d let me stay with them

To dance, dance,

To sing, sing,

To be a young, young child

Always.