downtown girl

her radiator
would clunk in
the night.
cold or hot.
it didn't matter.
people in the hallway
would slam
their doors coming
home late.
it would
wake you
up, but not
her. she could
handle loud
noises better
than you could.
the sirens
on the street,
the squabbles
outside
the bar below
her building.
taxis beeping
their horns. even
the animals in
the zoo across the street.
the lion's roar.
she slept soundly.
while you lay there
wide awake,
missing the sparrows
in your tree.