House at Night

William Gedney, from Houses at Night (1960-1973)

House at Night
                   after William Gedney 


Stranded 
by speech, nouns 
twine to amplify 

the asphalt-kindled 
dark.

…

Who isn’t
inhabits the house—

the husk
of what wasn’t

where a lamp-lit window 
hangs.

…

Sidewalk crabgrass 
collars a fire hydrant

collared by street light. 

Gnarled cactus
in a pot on a sill.

…

Silence is revision

of silence, the sound
of a paper cup 

dumping shadow 
over a curb.