We take you for granted,
always there when wanted,
table lamp or nightlight,
not too dim, not too bright
comforts us in younger years,
does away with all our fears
of bogeymen and apparitions,
disturbing shapes behind partitions,
and later when we’re needing
radiance for bedside reading
or in old age provide light
for the fifth time in the night.
On the table underneath
in a beaker, our false teeth
and lined up in your beams alone
our glasses, novel, mobile phone,
but that’s not all, there’s much, much more
you shine your light into the drawer,
and assist us to find later
condoms, pills, or a vibrator
and finally, before we start
a quiet night with our sweetheart,
kissing and cuddling in your glow,
there’s one thing we need to know,
so, we ask, in unison:
"Turn it off or leave it on"?