-- Darkness Dims the World –

John Herlihy

Every night, darkness dims the world.

Driving sheets of rain descend as spilt ink.

Lightning spears the blackened sky,

Illuminating raindrops as diamond dust.

The rain smells as fresh wind,

Of damp earth, mulch of leaves.

Night rain smells of darkness,

With the smell of something else.

Something that shouldn’t be missed.

I stand on the front porch.

The house door whispers on hinges.

Facing the night rain of the storm,

I stand still in terror and elation.

Feeling filled by the enveloping mystery,

The night, pelting rain, flashes of light.

At my doorstep, night rain inviting me,

To marvel, to wonder, to dream the impossible.

To sprout wings and fly thru wet night air,

Where clouds rumbled and roared,

And lightning streaked across the land.

To be in flight amid a flock of startled birds.

Their feathers washed clean in the driving rain.

The front door plated in silvery sheets.

The whispering door hinges urging me

To fly away in the rain with the birds.

Searching as they do for the lost moon.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Monday 28 March 2022