A child crying in the night Across the street In one of the many dark windows. That, too, to get used to, Make part of your life. Like this book of astronomy Which you open with equal apprehension By the light of the table lamp, And your birdlike shadow on the wall. A sleepless witness at the base Of this expanding immensity, Simultaneous in this moment With all of its empty spaces, Listening to a child crying in the night With a hope, It will go on crying a little longer.