a cascade of sirens came in under headphone warbles. and afterwards, volume muted, the hum of the fridge, joking laughter nearby, the paper party garland shifting in the breeze and scratching on the sill.

in the northernmost parts of the northern hemisphere the sun isn’t setting tonight. on the radio earlier, a woman in anchorage talked about how the sun “circles and dips” but only provides a little twilight. and people stay up because their bodies don’t think they need to sleep.