A Walk by Night

November 9, 1994

I walk by moonlight

when the sun, having shed

its affinity for fire,

vanishes with

a final burst of flame.

I walk when darkness falls

and the scent

of night blooms

fills the air.

I walk in darkness.

And from somewhere,

a cat comes out to stare,

its silvery eyes

not friendly nor unfriendly,

not fearful, but with tolerance,

almost recognition,

as though it knows me

for all I am:

one whose view of the world

is cloaked in mist and moonlight,

and whose dreams as well,

wear a covering Joseph's coat

bright with color, even in the dark -

I too, in my fashion,

like the cat:

a child of the moon.