Closedown (for Alice Arnold) by Wendy Cope

Closedown (for Alice Arnold) by Wendy Cope

An almost empty building:
Someone, all alone,
Reads the shipping forecast
To a microphone.

Listeners in bedrooms,
Listeners at sea,
Thousands of them, hear her
Speak invisibly,

Hear her through the darkness,
Hear her say goodnight,
Picture her alone there,
Switching off the light.

Is it really like that?
I asked if I could go
And be with the announcer
In the studio.

And, yes, it's really like that.
Someone all alone,
Reads the shipping forecast
To a microphone.

Speaks into the darkness,
Says a last goodnight.
Plays the national anthem,
Switches off the light.