(excerpt)
9 p.m. in Brooklyn, New York
The vroom and shush of traffic
outside the bedroom window
while Mama turns the pages
of a sleeptime tale.
9 p.m. in Brooklyn, New York, is…
***
10 p.m. in Puerto Rico
Sweet rice, fruit ice, coconut candy.
Papa playing congas, Tio his guitar.
Swaying lanterns in the branches,
dancing people on the grass.
Bedtime is forgotten on a special party night.
10 p.m. in Puerto Rico is…
***
Midnight on the mid-Atlantic
Nothing blacker than the water,
nothing wider than the sky.
Pitch and toss, pitch and toss.
The Big Dipper might just ladle
a drink out of the sea.
Midnight on the mid-Atlantic is…
***
2 a.m. in England
Bread in the pantry at nighttime
tastes better than cream cakes at tea.
2 a.m. in England is…