before the dawn
with thanks… to Barbara Aves (13 March 1936 to 21 December 2020)
the daws drive dark before the dawn;
gather for the final roost
before the sun has chance to rise… –
no light today; just shadow… –
mere shadow without end;
sad margins robbed of symmetry.
the daws I see
from nowhere –
out of nowhere –
rise:
solemn airs
gnarled within the gloom;
carefree graces
wrenched without the light.
so many vanquished stars;
so many stolen nightfalls;
from nowhere –
out of nowhere –
the clouds I see
astray, mislaid;
minor keys unturned.
the silences, eclipses,
the nothings and the nowheres,
the shadows we are made of,
the dark we are afraid of… –
all shaped the same
but never visible… –
as
the daws drive dark before the final dawn.
