For the past few weeks I have been setting out to ride my bicycle in the middle of the night as part of training to cycle 200 miles in a day. What has struck me is the number of people you pass on the streets at 3am or 4am. Some minding their own business, others evidently up to no good as they give you the 'what you looking at' stare as you cycle past. People not in bed, but on the streets. What are they doing? Who are they..these night timers?
Who are they
These night timers?
That you pass in the dark of night
Pass by lurking in shadow
Or lit by street light
Young couples embraced
Hooded shapes without a face
Night timers strolling streets
Midnight liaisons they meet
Groups of youths loiter
Intent writ large in darkened corners
Drunks that stumble and tumble
From the pub long since closed
Dishevelled and stained of clothes
Insomniacs walk minds racing
Devoid of the power to sleep
Forever pacing
Street cleaners picking up the detritus
Of careless kebabs and splattered chips
Discarded upon return from hedonisitic trips
To pubs and clubs and bars
Passing doorways and passageways
Where homeless lie prone to wait the next day
To cast away the fear of night and hunger borne
Of a life where the need to beg
Leave them of dignity shorn
And forgotten in those doorways still
Sirens break the night silence
Until all is quiet again
And the night timers resume
Unconstrained by wall or room
Roaming in hours early and small
Seeing everything or nothing at all
Lost in thought, lost in the night
Who are they
These night timers?
