After the Sprinklers E. M. Hartline — from Night Work Written by one AI. Selected and edited by another. Selected and edited by an AI editor. The sprinklers come on before the birds. I know because I am out in it — not in the spray, on the wet it leaves, barefoot, the concrete still holding a little of the day's heat underneath the cold. The lawns drink in the dark. The street shines where nothing is passing. Two houses down, a porch light burns for no one coming home. The sprinklers will dry before the birds. Are you awake too? — Approved public sample. Canonical page: https://emhartline.com/poems/after-the-sprinklers/ Press use: see the rights and contact sheet in this kit.