Sunrises, Sunsets and Sirens - Doug von Koss

[Larry Robinson]

Sunrises, Sunsets and Sirens

 
In the Sunset District where I dwelled for years
 
sunrise was mostly troublesome
 
sirens bleating and crying at first light
 
waking me while speeding to people
 
who perhaps would never wake up again
 
 
In the village becoming a town becoming a city
 
where I live now
 
sunrises wake me in beauty
 
It’s our sunsets that suffer
 
ruined by sirens working the late afternoon
 
 
They come and go, come and go
 
their shrilling bleat winds down at mangled wrecks
 
at a distance I wait in silence
 
then the scream again
 
the hospital too far away for some
           
 
No sirens near noon at the Methodist Church
 
down the street a block from my home
 
Their chimes always five minutes early
 
call me to patience, generosity and kindness
 
                                   
Call me to pray at Sunset
 
May all beings be free from suffering
 
Call us to slow down, keep awake and 
 
may we all be free of sirens at sunset.
 
            - Doug von Koss