One Night

Dusk to dawn, and everything the dark says. The order follows a single night. It opens with a note on light — sunlight each morning matters as much as candlelight each night — and then 4 a.m., when the deepest thoughts float to the surface. Fireflies and cicadas give way to insomnia, the CPAP, the monsters under the bed and the werewolves in the hall. Past midnight the mood deepens: falling stars, a quiet universe, dreams shared across a pillow, raccoons raiding the trash. Then the birds, the snooze button, the woodpeckers, mist on still water, and a closing charge to make every morning a gift.