Night Light by Kate Barnes

Happy Halloween my darling trick or treaters!  I hope that your Halloween is full of spine-tingling spookiness, delightful fright, tremendous treats, and plenty o' pumpkins.  Ahh yes, and heed Kate Barnes' advice and sleep with the night light on tonight.

Late Night

Night Light by Kate Barnes

Lying in bed in the pitch black, a little breathing
underlies my own;
it is my dog on the floor; we are both alive here.
And I struggle with the old illusion; there is
something else in the room,
a story in the darkness - if I wake up I can
write it down.
It is the light of the purple grape, the deep glowing light
that emanates from my black horse's flank, the knee-
length, straight,
shiny black hair of the round-faced girl in Sonora
dancing with her groom at the fiesta while all the
aunts sat and smiled;
or it is the telephone pole with Black Beauty stamped
on it, or the thin black dog
named Ink Spot, or the one sleek all-black cow with black
horns -
in the herd of Holsteins always a silhouette; it is the
screaming games
of murder in the dark house, the quick uncertain
kiss in the pantry, the running feet;
they are all here in the darkness with me, they crowd
me with their light.