Night Vision: A Poem
Part 1: Jed — A Season of Change Writing Competition
Jed sits there, day in day out,
13 hours a day,
come rain, come shine,
come sickness, come religious holiday.
He sits there, to give them what they need.
His shop’s lit up like a Christmas tree,
all coloured lights and fish lens mirrors.
All year round, he watches the quiet street.
And even though he’s so bright, so obvious,
he’s so well hidden behind the glare and the
cheerful shop tunes that no one notices him watching.
No one ever sees the brightest thing in the room.
But in the silence of night there’s plenty to hear.
He hears the shouts and the slamming doors.
He sees their fights late at night
when they forget to close their curtains.
He sees the cowered dog wandering the street,
the lone man making his dazed way home.
The teens out in the dead of night,
playing their pranks, drinking, smoking
fooling around in places they shouldn’t be.
