The Red Light

stops me
a cacophony of chirps
penetrate through closed windows
through the smooth-running engine’s hums
through the starless darkness

confused by this unusual occurrence
of earlier than the early birds’ avian chatter
I open the cockpit’s porthole to get a better listen

I am transported to the airport’s
drop-off and pick-up area
where incessant avifauna noise
plays on a loop meant to keep all
real birds at bay

I say to myself there is no way
anyone would do such a thing
play fake birdsong out here on the edge
of town next to the interstate
adjacent from affordable housing

a traffic light that’s never red at 430AM
was crimson this morning so I might be privy
to something new this day

with eyes and ears open to a life
outside of and bigger than my little world
a transcending sanity washes me awake