Night Cap By Jake St. John

Sometimes

late at night 

when I can’t sleep

and the glasses

are empty

I wander down

the hallway 

past bedrooms 

some of them full

some of them empty

I trip over laundry

and navigate the stairs 

and head into the garage 

where I'll stand 

and look out 

into the night 

usually the moon

hangs over the yard

or at least 

a street light 

on the far side 

of the woods 

breaks through

on some nights 

coyotes yip 

the darkness 

other nights 

owls echo 

the shadows 

but tonight 

there's nothing 

so I guess 

I'll go back in 

the house

and write a poem.

 

Jake St. John lives in the woods on the edge of the Salmon River. He is the author of several collections of poetry including Lips Leave Scars (with Jenn Knickerbocker, Whiskey City Press, 2023) Ring of Fog (Holy and Intoxicated Publications, 2022), Night Full of Diamonds (Whiskey City Press, 2021), and Lost City Highway (A Jabber Publication, 2019). He is the editor of Elephant and is considered an original member of the New London School of poetry. His poems have appeared in print and online journals around the world."