THOSE DAYS

Those days a long cord was tied to the switch,

you could still turn on a light while sitting on the bed.

Those days the lights were as plain as the country folks.

not worrying about the material of the cord.

You pulled it and it lit up, pulled again and it turned off.

After a light goes out, a winter night

often brings a deeper awakening

and even better vision.

Those days I used to like to get up in the dark,

and look through fence gaps or the seam of the doors

at what's there beyond the dark world —

Moonlight, stars, white frost on the roof,

a small gray cat with bright eyes,

all were very fascinating,

and when a lamp broke, in those days,

they would compete to stand out and continue to shine.