Forestalling: a Nocturnal
Celebrating the things of the night.
The expanse of stars across an ocean.
The moon in its many phases.
.
Moon friend beneath the trees
A wise old face is winking at me.
Winking forever in sunlight and dawn.
Celebrating the things of the night.
.
I kiss your cheek and a star appears.
The cat comes by to nuzzle
before an evening of prowling.
Returning to sharpen her claws on the
nearby tree trunk. And, to camel her
own celebration of night before resting.
.
I do not see all that goes on in the garden
at night.
I am saying my prayers celebrating
the things of the night.
I am inching my way to the forestalling
of eternal night.
Scatter my ashes at the foot of my moon friend.
24/7, he’ll wink at you.
We will be celebrating the things of the night.
The kiss of a star on his cheek.
Benita H. Kape © 17.4.2017
camel found from “Of Jeoffry, His Cat” by Christopher Smart
And now for our (optional) prompt. Today, I challenge you to write a nocturne. In music, a nocturne is a composition meant to be played at night, usually for piano, and with a tender and melancholy sort of sound. Your nocturne should aim to translate this sensibility into poetic form! Need more inspiration? Why not listen to one of history’s most famous nocturnes, Chopin’s Op. 9 No. 2?