Finally to unconscious [2002]

A dog cries in strangled pleas
to darkened windows,
cars hush past on distant errands,
and a voice within chatters, endless.

Unaware, she breathes slow,
and I wonder if words exist
for the moments when we switch
from ruminate
to wander
and finally to unconscious,
and how to get there from here.

The refrigerator turns in its dreaming
to the sighing walls
where the gutter drips without rhythm,
and a melody within follows, tuneless.