The house sets off on its nightly course
Relinquishes its servant duties
Relaxes its responsiveness to beck and call
And eases into autonomy
No mechanisms to manage
Nor devices to maintain but such as those
That pertain mainly to the interior
The air the darkness
And to a lesser extent the exterior

A breeze enacts procession through a half-opened window
A streetlight genuflects through a gap in the curtains
It will keep up the good work
Until the fullness of the morning
And up and down the neighborhood
The region reverberates not unpleasantly
The barred owl calls in lengthy intervals
Who-oo-oo cooks who cooks for you rrrrr
In lengthier intervals the railroad tracks clatter
The engine sounds its diminished chord
A dog intones and then is silent
Thrusting motions emanate from the highway
The frictioning tires the whine of shifting gears
Trucks hauling manufactured goods the finished and the partial
Emit rough gutturals from their elevated exhaust pipes
Hedonists fast and furious in their Dodges and Camaros
Make bets or raise hell for the hell of it

People elsewhere watch TV
Eat snacks make love
Check in with their social media
But here the house conducts itself as a house
Practicing the tranquility of customary night
Tomorrow the negotium begins again
But here tonight beloved let us rest