We’re fellow travelers on a moonlit road through the night country,
where there’s never any rush hour.
—Frank Bruni, opinion writer, The New York Times

•••

The 3:45 a.m. email gets sent
like a flashlight SOS in the night—

three rapid flashes,
then three slow bursts,
then three rapid flashes—

not so much in the hope
of an immediate response,

but when one comes, we
find ourselves buoyed

by the life ring thrown
our way that can keep

us afloat if we grab it,
hanging onto the

we-are-not-alone-ness
of wakeful souls in the dark,

elation in receiving
proof from afar:

You’re awake?
I am, too.