IN THE DARK

in we flit like Bede's sparrow

into the banqueting hall

dodging the storms of winter rain

for momentary comfort

and night-time counsel

urban darkness incomplete

maybe imperfect

without blinds or curtains

the room only dim

with lights switched off

but we gather round

eyes adjusting

collectively attuned

to the silhouette duet

lit by mobiles

she reads from her phone

hand shielding the glare

he reads from paper

which he can't see

without his phone

in a comic routine

he taps the screen

reads a few words

is halted in darkness

each time the screen cuts out

later we learn about LEDs

in fits and starts

reprising that routine

with a box of cook's matches

lit turn by turn

she reads under her flame

for a line or two

he never sees why

his brief candle always outs

before any full stops

when the box is empty

the lecture fizzles out

the scribbling in gloom continues

trying to catch insights

thrown in the dark

phoneless and fearless

a woman looks up

from the middle of a frozen lake

at the death spiral

of the Northern Lights

the brothers can't sleep

push beds together

to brawl in blackness

knock themselves out

to dream of bats

a shadowy throng

of nocturnal psychogeographers

files along the riverbank

hoping not to disrupt

the mating rites of fish

someone highlights

amid the tribulations

of environmental control

an overlooked gadget

known as the eyelid

meanwhile deep in the forest

a theatre company

is busy moonlighting

for a restless audience

of fireflies and moths.