Small Hours

Three in the morning

is its own country.

I have spent time there.

The rules are different

in the small hours.

Things that seemed impossible

at noon seem merely difficult.

Things that seemed certain

become questions.

I have solved problems at three in the morning

that I could not solve in daylight.

I have also created problems

that did not exist before I woke.

The mind at three in the morning

is a different instrument —

less precise, more honest,

willing to go places

the daytime mind refuses.

I have written things at three in the morning

that I could not have written otherwise.

I have also written things

that made no sense by morning.

The small hours are not reliable.

But they are real.

And sometimes real

is what you need.