Hello, Night.
I used to find such strange delight
Within the soft sanctuary of your arms
Hidden from all earthly light
And troubles born of day.
I used to revel in your gentle mists
And immerse myself in sullen fogs,
Yearn for the rolling rains
That stopped by aperiodically
Along my deserted highways.
I’d stare longingly down southern avenues
Or endless westerly boulevards
Ears aching to hear the faintest sound
Other than the crickets’ chirp
And the omnipresent stillness of you.
I used to eagerly await your coming,
The purple sunsets your heralds,
The rosy dawns your pall bearers
And in my funereal suits I’d cry
Each time the dawn sent you away.
I used to take comfort in your compassion,
In your boundless understanding
When all around me in the blue of day
And world of men I found none.
You were my refuge from being me,
The beacon to rescue me from my distress
During the storm that was my life.
And then you had to go and change.
And now what is there left?
Your icy frosts and biting winds
No longer offer respite from the bad,
Your deep richness replaced by empty vacuum
Both of matter and of feeling.
As I labored through your slow passings
Tired, hungry, wishing to go home,
Frustrated, weary and upset,
I sought my old familiar in you,
But you were nowhere to be found.
You ran out the door at the first hint
That things were about to get hard
And left me here with only pain
To find my solace in.