AT NIGHT by mutie oscar ghitto

At night, i hear souls. I wake up and listen. I give all my attention to these voices. They are voices of want, of love, of crime. I crawl back to my sleep, closing the gates of my ears. I do not want to listen anymore. Because, "that voice haunts me". my soul speaks, he converses, he shouts, yet am unwilling to be his audience. for that voice haunts me. "You must be strong" I thunder, not realizing that the speaker was so delicate, so fragile, so emotional. I hear him whimper. I can feel it, as he holds back bitter tears. I pity him. And for that reason, I decide to listen.


That cricket crackling in the dead of the night, that growling dog, that murmuring thief, they wash me with fear. They paint me with sadness. That is why i did not want to listen. When i listen to these voices, I always wake up contemplating nasty things, like  taking a little trip to the nether world. The reason being, am too weak. I cannot stand that sound.. I cannot face it. Its content is the kind I cannot rebuke. yes! am a boy in a man's body, a mice in human form. That is why i always pulled the pillow closer to my chest so that I can feel solace, at the crack of that sound.


That thief murmuring in the night to his fellows, was a sad thief. A man robbed of his conscience. A man reduced into nothingness by the world. A man whose soul was badly wounded, yet he could not feel it. I can feel his voice, as he consoles himself in thievery. That voice haunts me.

That voice, of fear, the feminine voice, clothes being ripped off, a begging cry, robbed innocence, truly robs me of sleep. That voice haunts me. That voice, of love, of laughter and mirth, of merriment,reminds me of the timid hearts walking in a dark alley, and a gang lying in wait. Waylaying to stick the rusted knife in their backs. That voice haunts me.

I hear many voices. I listen to the souls of men. I shove the secrets underneath, but am too weak. My hands refuse to hold. My legs refuse to move. My soul weeps, beseeching me, begging me to raise my  voice so that i can shout "destruction of humanity" but where is the voice?