Necessity

Woke at five on the dot as usual. Pulled on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. I sat in a worn lawn chair on the balcony and smoked a cigarette. The air was wet and warm. The predawn was nearly silent except for the sound of a few trucks already making deliveries. The lights were still off in the surrounding tall buildings. Dark pools of water standing in the black streets reflected the orange globes of the streetlamps as if some ingenious person had lit the street from below as well as above.

People who missed the end of night walked the streets after dawn. They listened to an inner voice singing of necessity.