night sadness

          “Night is the blotting paper for many sorrows.”    
                                   —African Proverb    
     
when day tasks are done          
     and the world is gone    
          and the sun bows down his head    
and the doors are closed    
     and tight locks imposed    
          and the atmosphere is dead    
my spirit swells within my breast    
     confined against my will    
          because the night brings more unrest    
               than can my fervent quill    
                    transcribe.  the walls press in on me    
                    like bogeyman at large    
               arresting all the harmony    
          seeking to take full charge    
     for the moon is framed with just a tinge    
of the sky's nocturnal madness.    
     
when the air blows chill    
     and the trees stand still    
          and the hounding of the dog    
sends a pale siren    
     echo through the glen    
          choking in the evening fog    
a desperate and deep despair    
     keeps company with me    
          a cloak of death that i must wear    
               till my epiphany    
                    full blooms.  when comes the stir of day    
                    night minions must flee    
               for for new light i humbly pray    
          where fear runs after me    
    and the congress of dark shadows binge    
in the pestilent night sadness    
     
                              © Copyright 2024 March 10    
                                   by Clyve A. Bowen♫