Arts! By the People

Beatrice Freiheiter, a participant in our Talking Poetry Class, was inspired to write her own ekphrastic poem based on Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.”

It was late at night.
I was cold and tired.
I had to find a place to rest
before I started to expire.

Down the road I saw a diner,
but the area was lonely and dark.
I made my way to it
and found a place to park.

I went inside the diner
and looked all around.
The customers were sitting and eating,
they did not utter a sound.

They looked so lonely and forlorn
that even the waiter stifled a yawn.
I heard someone give a wistful sigh,
it gave me the creeps, like someone had died.

I paid my bill and left in a hurry,
a shudder ran down my spine.
I wanted to get home as soon as possible
and hug that family of mine.

The place still haunts me.
When I think of it, I am sad.
I hope those unhappy people
find someone to love and feel glad.

—Beatrice Freiheiter