Dark Night

1. Like a colossal black hole, the pitiless night devours every glowing shred of light, generating an impenetrable darkness for the pilgrim groping home. 2. Darkness is its own reward. The lines on the highway disappear into pavement. Compasses swirl counter- clockwise, blind to true north. Death hides behind bushes, reaching out to snatch the unwitting soul. 3. I yearn to embrace the night in all its inhumanity, to find its dark spot for the flaneur. But there is no shadow of direction. The night hides within itself, dense and tragic, like a Puccini opera. Who can sing its arias? 4. A colossal black hole, the night compacts every beam of light. Who can lift the curtain of darkness that falls across our lives? Who can bring light back to the world?