Daily Cascade

Shadows with Long Fingers

Shadows--patient, ancient--stretch their
long fingers without hurrying, without
judgment, not cruel, not empty, for
their darkness is their only form
of listening,

and they gather used-up colors from the day,
folding them into the cacophony of life with
restless hopes of the living, and then they
place the moon over worn-out people
like a lantern,

and next, they spread the stars into the depths
of the night, so the return of the light follows
through God's sacred rhythm of mercy
and can come upon the earth, after
the left hand of darkness.