Night Sounds

by Joan Moos
 
Ka  chink, ka chink, ka chink, ka chink,
the sounds of the chains on the car tires
as they moved down the highway adjacent to my house
on a snowy, winter night.
 
Then,
the occasional clanking of a broken chain,
 breaking the silence of the night
as it banged against a fender,
halting the mesmerizing rhythm.
 
Sounds of the night, over and over
I'd hear as I tried to fall asleep.
The zap, zap, zap of ice pellets
as they'd hit the window when the snow
would occasionally turn to sleet
offered its own unusual sounds
with no particular rhythm.
 
I'd hear the motion of the electric railroad train
on the far side of the highway
as its steel wheels  moved steadily along the metal tracks,
its sounds, and the rhythm, almost hypnotizing,
while the sparks from the wet third rail sent up
flickering lights reflecting  across my bedroom wall.
 
It is interesting how the mind can so vividly recall
certain images, almost as though they’d just happened,
although there have since been a near lifetime of winters.