The Night has fallen
Gracefully
Silently
Ushered by a Sunset in mad array of color.
But not the Night; no

She tiptoes softly
now waiting
now listening
now gliding across the window pane.

Nodding to her daughter the Moon
She darkens.
A gown of deepest black she dons
A circlet of stars about her throat and
Glistening in her hair.
She gathers to her inky skirts
the World in all it's slumber.

Caressing it now carefully
now violently
now laughingly
Stories of her dangerous charms are
carried by the winds.

And children see the Night and fear her.
Mothers feel the Night and greet her.
Lovers hear the Night and trust her,
Spilling to her silent heart
the secrets of their deep delights.

And when her time is come
She fades,
Turns her midnight dress to a robe of misty grey.
And gently, oh so gently

She tiptoes softly
now waiting
now listening
now gliding past the window pane
And leaves the waking World at the mercy
of the Day.

~ C. Nelson