Twilight

This is for Becky.

There is a moment
Between day and night
When the world hangs
         On the cusp,
                   suspended
Like the abyss
Between two heartbeats.

We hold our breath
As if afraid
An errant exhalation
Will break the spell,
Blow away the fragile veil
And hasten the fall of night.

One might imagine Eden’s grace;
Innocence betrayed,
         Quivering in
                   that same half-light.
The long march to the gates,
Blinking spots through tears.
In the aftermath of
Incandescent anger.

The sky hovers before our face,
Scant inches away.
                   The trees meld
                             And separate.
Our hearts thump in our chest
And we squint to see the lines.
We long for bright Clarity
Or the soft Blackness
Of ignorance.

This in-between world
Brings up old pains,
         Forgotten fears.
                   We know what we lost:
We killed the day
We bear the night.