Clear night

A damp and winter stillness;
Black tree bones beaded with water drops;
The velvet gaps between the clouds beaded with stars.

A crescent moon hangs crookedly, slipping down the sky and Venus blazes bright above the trees. The light has long since gone; the western fires are less than embers.
Only the faintest smudge of ash lightens the horizon..

Imperceptibly, the clouds dissolve.
One by one the lonely stars regain their constellations and the jigsaw sky reforms.

The air is damp and soft but under this cooling canopy of stars the long thin threads of light will stitch their bright embroideries.
Frost needles fix white sequins into place.

And as we sleep, this gentle, liquid air will harden into stone
To set like concrete round the threshold of my home.

(c) A McN