Warning Signs

Alarm

Presuming for the moment,

the mind had perceived 

the sequence of premonitions

in reality this particular time,

the peculiarity of the situation

was a proximity of these events

to the presentation of the alarm.

That alarm was terribly loud;

intended to warn occupants

that one of 

a number of

circumstances

had just occurred.

As far as the thoughtful mind was aware

possible events included fire and flood,

but of immediate concern in the house:

glass breakage and unauthorized entry.

The alarm was deliberately jarring.

It was brilliantly crafted in dark labs

with many years of strategic studies

into the physical and mental aspects

of human subjects' natural inclinations.

Scientists designed the abrasive sound

to pinpoint precise nerves and sensors

to transmit that highest level of alert.

Its operation had now proven flawless.

Just as the living eye inherently infers

a color red as dire warning in the wild,

the ear was tightly tuned to interpret

the timber of this sharp sound as a sign

of immediate peril a mind should obey.

The body had not moved.

This was not a first occasion

the alarm had been detected

at this house by those ears.

Also, like the previous times

the squeal had been issued,

the warning had been short.

It was a blast similar in length

to the shortest

of the four whistles of the train

—those four whistles to occur

only moments after the alarm.

During those previous days,

when the alarm had gone off,

and the mind was already alert,

the signal had been loud enough

to send the cat two feet into air

from a light rest in a calm world.

It was the first time in recollection

it had ever sounded during night.

Unlike the train and siren sequence,

this timing had occurred previously.

There was not a way for the ears

to casually dismiss the night alarm.

Concerns loomed large.

In three years, the alarm

had never been activated.

It had never even been set;

a bill had never been paid;

accounts never established;

not even one simple code

at anyone's disposal to arm

or disarm.

Yet, the alarm had sounded.

However, somehow, the house mate,

one room away, didn't seem to react.

This initiated the floundering mind

on its second thoughts about reacting.

Nor had the cat or dog responded

other than to look up at the body, 

but that could have been because 

the body had twitched at the sound.

Had the noise been in a dream?