One Night 1948

Most of the night the baby cried.

Eddie had no patience with it;

so his wife took the baby out

of the bedroom, and to elsewhere

to another room. He can’t hear,

at least not so much as before.

He has work tomorrow, needs sleep

to refresh him, keep him alert

for the day ahead. He drifted

off to sleep again, a new dream.

His wife sat in the other room

and breastfed the baby to sleep, 

watching coal trucks being shunted

across the road at the coal wharf,

all lit up beneath the bright moon.

The baby sucked so greedily,

the only sound in the cold room.

Then it stopped and all was silent.

She removed her teat from the mouth

of her baby and put away.

She put baby back in the cot

and returned back to the warm bed

and rested the thoughts in her head.