Watching and listening are parts of life
in my bedroom community.
Listen in the early morning,
as neighbors warm up cars
before driving to their daily grind.
Listen to slamming car doors roll over
and hear the roar of a motorcycle.
The commuter day starts with lots of noise.
Watch as children are dropped off at the kid kennels.
Pick up the paper in the driveway
and watch the green men walk to the train station.
Watch the university students and faculty
ride away on their bikes.
Children head to school with backpacks
much too full of textbooks and electronic gear.
Watch the last bit of neighborhood action
as the stay-at-home mommies
do the stroller exercise.
Listen as those other noisy commuters rise from their roost
and scream good morning to each other.
Well-known and hated bathroom behaviors
accompany the waking screams.
Soon the flight to the feeding fields
start with a sky-blacking flutter.
The other commuters start their day.
Listen to the empty bedroom.
The return of the commuters brings life
to the neighborhood.
First come the mommies from the grocery stores.
Students run home from school.
Then come the bikers with brief cases
heavy with work undone.
Cars and motorcycles roar into the cul-de-sac.
From the fields come the flying scouts.
One by one they fly over to secure the roost.
Soon small bunches arrive.
Then the sky is full.
Shouts of joy ring out
as they land in their bedroom community.
Finally the laggards come home,
after one more bite.
The bedroom community is ready for sleep.