Night Vision

i Grey lilac

A soft moth bumps against the pane
slips through the half-closed window
lights on my pale arm.

Moonlight goes deeper than skin
the pulse of it in our veins
draws us inward

to burrow into the night.

ii Owls’ element

Is it the night sky or the ground that tilts?
My feet aren’t sure of their bearings,
but I walk on over the arc of fields,

treading grass crunchy with frost
as if earth is spawning stars.
Creaks come from the hedge.

Clouds gleam, turn sooty, disperse.
Trees bleed into shadows.
Watchful creatures signal each other.

Overhead
Sirius, Orion, the Pleiades
light years away.

Rebecca Gethin