Sanctuary stillness

Pine trees sift all sounds;
softly filtering the air
till only silence dusts the darkness.
a sanctuary stillness
hanging in the night.


Bright planets and a crescent moon
slip low behind the curtain of the trees.
Up above the constellations dance;
the Great Bear tiptoes silently
across the silhouette of trees.


Dew on the grass, tree breath on the air.
Needles of starlight lacing the velvet sky then
falling like snowflakes on inky black pines 
where they sift,
with the silence,
in sanctuary stillness.