Across the valley lights are sparse;
Beyond, dark swaths of near-farmlands
Stretch the length of lake for
More than forty northern miles.
In an almost black sky, unseen stars
Whisper just enough of light to illumine
Peel of moon behind layered cirrus
That turned horizon violet as sun rolled
From edge of sight.
An hour earlier, wind sudden-stopped,
Bird song dissipated, faint scurrying movement,
Snap of twig, and then the
Hovering stillness.
There we sat, bundled in the cold spring,
Sarah and I, watching Robert's lanky form
Some paces from us
Move toward the setting sun
And disappear into new-blooming night.
