Nocturnal Creatures - Jan 5 2022

 

Nocturnal Creatures

Jan 5 2022

I slept late,

so all that remains

is just a small window of light,

such brief days

in this northern latitude's

long season of night.

Now, even that has dwindled away.

I look out through triple-pane glass,

and except for my own imperfect reflection

in the incandescent light

all I see is black.

So it could just as well be an outer planet

antarctic lair

the Mariana Trench;

anywhere, really

it's permanently cold and lightless.

Even deep space,

so far from any galaxy

the dark is absolute

and all the stars receding.

But it's earth,

and light leaks through the atmosphere,

subterranean heat

percolates up from the ground.

And in the fullness of time

the winter sun will rise;

even if, like me

late, and grudgingly.

The moon keeps us company as well.

It will be full, tonight,

illuminating the world

with enchanted light,

and inviting me to join

all the other nocturnal creatures

who feel protected by dark;

padding quietly through the snow,

wide-eyed

and keenly alert.

The full moon isn't until Jan 17. So I'm taking poetic license.

I’m very much a nocturnal creature, though. I do feel protected in the dark: wrapping it around me like a cloak; slipping through the night, armoured and unseen. And I think wide-eyed and keenly alert nicely captures the feeling of being out and about at night: when the world is quiet and still, and your senses are acutely tuned to every sound and shift.