​

Notes on the Night Watch Series

John Tomlinson

Lumberland, New York • 2017

​

  Men are at their most vulnerable when they tell other men that they feel vulnerable.

  Men tell themselves that they must stand tall against adversity, alone against threat;

 Stand at the ready, legs planted solidly on the earth, shoulders back, loins girded, arms anticipating attack, fists clenched, eyes sharpening focus, heart racing, prepare counter-attack.

  My men know misery. My men lay in an open field, in a hidden thicket, in a most vulnerable position, wanting peace, feigning rest, alert to the faintest crack of the twig, to the sound on the wind, to the shadow of movement at the corner of the eyes, heart thumping, blood coursing.

    Moment of encroachment! 

​

​