Night Watch
Night Watch I watch as the full, lucent moon rises
and grows smaller in the soft gray sky.
My black cat is with me for a moment,
hunched by my side.
But shadows are deep tonight
and he must dart into them,
pawing after secrets,
becoming one himself.
I am alone now,
except for the creeping moon
and twin pine trees
as silent as myself.
– Gloria Beasley Lausten