in the overnight

in the overnight i resist the ripples of sleep
staring down the palette of twinkling lights below
towering cities tucked away villages clusters of homes
smudged translucent by strokes of frozen vapor

the wing tip winks through the window
with a steady metallic heartbeat tap
that reaches outstretched into thin air
gliding graceful lifting through the sky

perhaps below sleepless and staring up
our winking wing tip taps through clouds distorted
becoming a wispy aura painted across the heavens
the engines roar swallowed by the infinite above

and soon the lights give way to a lifeless grey
a blackout veil separating land from air
our trajectory removed no beginning no end
up down forward back rolled into one

darkness dreaming of morning’s peek to steal this silence
wishing to roll up the pitch and fill the void
with a hint then glow then flood of dawn
each point of light waiting to wake into dreams or sorrow

but for now in the overnight you are alone
soaring silent above the promise of tomorrow