Reverence

a nocturnal visit -
within that small piece of the night,
they could both pretend...
they could ride the heart of a whirlwind,
secured in place with a rope
braided from the dreams of trees

the heart has its reasons -
reasons whereof reason knows nothing
she was drowning in their need
yet alone in a fragment...
a fragment of nothingness
beneath the mysterious black vault of velvet skies

perfection of dignity and virtue
lay in a corona of clouds
gathered about her head -
perfectly silhouetted against the moon,
her beauty lay in far more
than the outward description

the radiance of her smile
was as tangible as a soft breeze,
and it melted his cold heart
shadows swirling in crystal,
his voice trembled
like the dying aspen leaf

eyes flamed with hunger...
desire...
triumph...
as her hair tore free -
whipping about her face
like medusa's snakes

in moonlight, she was marble and shadow
and he knelt before her,
drowning himself
in a thick puddle of fog -
a lifetime since he'd laughed;
an eternity since he'd cried.

he whispered her name -
a voice so close to silence
one must strain to hear it -
and his eyes drank her down
like a bracing tot
of hot gin

the moment was sacrosanct,
and shadows caressed them reverently,
like sycophantic demons...
and a pure white light
spread like winter ice
over the darkness.