Night Shadows

 

Night is that shadow 

without a moon; 

the sun has slipped 

over the horizon

to lands I cannot see. 

Even the sounds of 

the night are changed. 

Bird song is muted, 

Wind whispers around 

corners and down streets. 

Traffic avoids the rush 

and splash of the day.

Curtains pulled against 

the cold soften sounds

outside and in. The creaks 

of the building settling 

for the night tells me 

that I’m not the only 

one showing my age,

“It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.”

~ Stephen King, novelist

At this Time of Night

April 2021

To write a piece of poetry 

at this time of night when 

there is little that has occurred 

in the day to warrant such writing. 

I could write about the whoosh 

of the traffic on icy streets, or

the soft roll of the bus as it stops 

to pick me up. Oh, the tall man, 

40ish, waiting for the same bus, 

not dressed for the cold, carrying 

a multicoloured skate board;

spiky hair and bejewelled fingers. 

he was quiet and not quite sullen. 

I could write about the swish of 

the dishwasher as it takes care of 

my days worth of dishes, including 

the bowl that held my bread dough 

in the fridge for the night.

But it is getting late and 

I have much to finish up before 

I greet my pillow. Hopefully, 

I’ll find some poetry tomorrow.

“I can feel my Thoughts

Tiptoeing about in their bedrooms

Getting ready for the night.”

~ Prudence Gager, Bedtime

10 More Minutes

10 more minutes 

while flutes play, 

fingers poised 

over laptop keys 

and still nothing comes 

so I will end this missive

and bid you goodnight.

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now.”

“Earl Nightingale, author

(1921 ~ 1989)

The Race

Hurry into the morning as 

if it would escape. The victim 

of an everyday chase that ends 

when afternoon comes. Chase 

slows as sun lowers itself t’ward 

the horizon and the shadow of 

the racer crosses the finish line

Hurry into the night, out of breath and wanting sleep to come quickly so the race can begin again in the morning. And what use is 

the hurry, 

  the chase, 

                 the race 

when sun and moon don’t pay attention 

to our funny little races through our lives.

“We have to slow the rhythm of our lives so that 

the best of who we are can emerge.”

~ Lysa TerKeurst, author

Along the Fence Line

Along the fence line 

between day and night, 

the minutes and moments 

of the day drift and pile up 

against each other til 

they brush through  

to ripple and colour

the landscape of dreams.

“For what one has dwelt on by day, 

these things he sees in visions of the night.”

~ Menander (c.342 ~c.292 BCE)

Translated by Francis G. Allinson 1921

Night Watch

Darkness has fallen, 

Snow, bandied about 

by the wind, has settled.

Christmas lights in 

windows and over doors 

vie with tall streetlights.

Music softens the evening. 

Day’s work complete. The 

night watch is for dreams.

“I love the silent hour of night,

For blissful dreams may then arise,”

~ Anne Bronté, 

Best Poems of the Bronté Sisters

No Clock Needed

 

10 at night

time to sleep 

pillow dreams

behind my eyes 

“There is a time for many words, 

and there is also a time for sleep.”

~ Homer,  The Odyssey 

Saturday Night

9 p.m.

Saturday night

Felt like a going out night

    when I was much younger 

Feels like a movie night

     then and now

Feels like a staying home night

     to read, to watch a movie, to be home.

“Saturday night is perfect for writers, because other people have ‘plans’.”

~ Mike Birbiglia, storyteller, comedian, actor

Moon Drift

 

clear azure sky

fades into black velvet

sifted with stars and moon drift.

“No sight is more provocative of awe than is the night sky.”

~ Llewelyn Powys, British essayist

(1884 - 1939)

Never Too Late

It’s late 

but never too late 

to do the only thing 

that comes 

at this hour of the night. 

It could be getting 

into warm flannel pyjamas 

or it could be 

writing an open letter 

to the world to settle 

into a peaceable night.

“Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.”

~ Tommy Douglas