DARKLIGHT

Abstract

1 8 Y D A R K L I G H T R O S A N N A W A R R E N The moon dragged her string-net bag of shadows through the boughs as we felt our way along the night road, gravel crackling under our feet: the stream in the gully gnashed dark thoughts about the rocks and we steered by treetops, tall spruces with their necromancers’ sleeves, white pines raising arms in supplication, celebration, who could tell: from the meadow we’d seen Cassiopeia’s maternal zigzag: hard to lose a daughter to sea monster, then to bridegroom, but all that family sorrow now twinkles quietly in the enormous sky: everyone in place, father, mother, daughter reaching starry arms to hero husband: here on earth the mother bear at twilight heaved a rock over with a single shove and scooped carefully for grubs while the pointy-nosed cub sat on its haunches. Coal black, the bears, and the mountain laurel in bloom lay like a drift of summer snow. ...