The Night Smell

What is that sweet
Night smell?
That midnight perfume
That rises from both lakes
And lanes?
That filters through
Window panes
And concrete walls?

It streams from farmland
And metropolis.
It rises to the stratosphere
And hovers at street level.

I drank this aroma
As an infant
At my mother’s breast.

This sweet scent issues
From shuttered depots
And all night eateries
From the back seats
Of taxies
And lingers beneath
Street lamps.

This sweet night smell
Wafts from dark fields
And breeze-rippled seas.
It moves on bird wing
And sleeps upon the dewy blade.

What is this night smell
That seems a blend
Of peace and hope?

This sweet night smell
Must be the aroma
Of life.
I cannot fix its origin
But this I know…
It rises from everything.