Haunting keening mournful sound

arouses me from sleep

and begins to taunt my consciousness

is it a child lost and alone

a wounded animal crying in the night

or the residue of a dream

in which I was trapped?

I lie there trying to sort it out

and the sound echoes

through my now wakeful being

tugging at the tangled threads

that try to hold me in

an other-worldly state

of semi-consciousness.

A child lost?

Alone?

A wounded and dying animal

howling at the stars?

The sound pierces the night again

and this time I struggle

to listen more closely

realize it is a distant train whistle

sounding its alarm

in the wee hours of morning.

No lost and wandering child.

No wounded animal.

A train. Going somewhere.

Now go back to sleep.