Photography by Emily Kennedy

Catcall in the distance at three a.m.
Someone far away is hot
And someone far away is horny
Decisions made with beer goggles
As you half-sleep in a bubbly, pleasant haze
There’s more evidence for evolution
Than skeletons and theories
I think as I hear a college girl
Shriek just like a chimpanzee
Below on Spruce Street
Far away noises sound so close
They are inside my tiny flat

How frightening it would be to venture outside so late
On a Saturday night
And soak up the stupidity
Violence at the slightest provocation
Passive-aggressive friendliness
Walk past a bar
Would I make it home alive?

The city lights cast a morning glow
On the trees and the now-grey sky
It looks as if the sun is rising

But, no, I’m still here in my warm, fluffy bed
Half asleep, half awake like most nights
When will I escape this vampire’s schedule?
I long for the early mornings of my youth
Seven a.m., the darkness lingering
Birds chirping, parents yelling
Reading on the school bus
Innocence, naïveté, thinking life was so difficult then
But it wasn’t
That was just the beginning

The jock population skyrockets after two a.m.
Because nothing good happens then
Birds, maybe robins, singing at four a.m.
Everything is backwards at this hour
And so much more frightening
Terrified of even leaving my room
Down the dark, empty hallway

Maybe I’m just jealous
I wish I had some friends to be stupid and drunk with
Some men and boys too
Even just some alcohol
A cold glass of beer
To help me sleep
To taste
So bubbly and bittersweet
Pop with a punch
I must imagine my glass of water as a mug of beer
And hope…