LADY OF THE NIGHT

Unseen all day
She comes to me
A nocturnal visitor
Snuggling in under the quilt
Engaging me in pillow talk
As I lie awaiting sleep

Sifts through every waking moment
A sieve, ever observant
The good straining through
The not so, retained
To be reconstructed
And deconstructed
Questions to be asked
And answered
With honesty and humility

If none be there
She leaves me silently to the sheets
Else, conflict ensues
And I am to perforce partner with her
Till a promise she extracts
Of recurrence ne’er again

Such a wonderful bedside companion
My conscience