-- The Darkest Hour -–

John Herlihy

Night’s shadow creeps as misty fog over earth’s edge;

Twilight bids farewell as darkness makes its pledge.

“I arrive,” the night promises, “in my own due time.”

Not a second early or late, the night resounds chime.

Lightness and darkness send forth shades into night

The darkness briefly surrenders to the shades of light

The moon mocks the stars with its dreamy plenitude;

The stars mock the moon with their eternal certitude.

Shadow clouds caress the moon with blinding fingers,

With its moody aura of light that on the earth lingers.

The deepest darkness of desert casts celestial glow;

No one can fathom the mystery the night may know.

By midnight, the heart of the mystery made manifest;

The darkness never compromised as the stars protest.

As if it doesn’t have enough, the darkness wants more,

The deepest darkness the heart of darkness to implore.

Ghost ships ply the waters as phantoms of the night;

The lost souls of shipwrecks appear as ethereal white.

The moon highlights the night with its milky brush;

The darkest hour of the night precedes dawn’s hush.

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(c) John Herlihy 23 January 2019