Taos Hum

It started after midnight,
somewhere under Taos sky.
A low sound through the silence.
I couldn't tell you why.

I killed the lights and power.
I listened by the door.
It sounded like an engine
ten miles away or more.

I drove beyond the houses.
I left the town behind.

But out there in the desert,
it followed me outside.

Hum in the dark.
Low beneath the night.
Nobody else can hear it,
but I know it's there tonight.

I cover up my ears.
I run but it still comes.
Taos sleeping quietly
underneath the hum.

Weeks became a season.
I learned its rise and fall.
Some nights barely breathing.
Some nights inside the walls.

They searched for wires and engines,
anything that might explain.
But every night I heard it
coming through again.

I used to pray for silence.
For one completely quiet night.

Hum in the dark.
Low beneath the night.
Nobody else can hear it,
but I know it's there tonight.

I cover up my ears.
I run but it still comes.
Taos sleeping quietly
underneath the hum.

Last night it disappeared.

For the first time,
I could sleep.

So why was I lying there...

waiting for it to speak?

Hum in the dark.
Come back into the night.
I never thought I'd miss you.
I never thought I might.

I spent so long escaping.
Now silence feels all wrong.
Taos sleeping quietly...

and I'm waiting for the hum.