Stage of Gloom

The birds have vanished into the sky.
I stand at the moonless window, only random fireflies
kindling the somberness. No trace of a pale moon
hiding behind a gossamer cloud, no red-tailed star
—Bleached Bones by Elizabeth Howard

The dog days of summer have steamed on by,
winds of autumn are blowing strong,
storm clouds clustering in the west,
the birds have vanished into the sky.

The crickets have chirped their last, turned quiet,
tree frogs have hushed their raucous voice,
white-tailed deer start prowling the night,
at the moonless window, random fireflies

gnaw early darkness, sparkle stunned air.
Bears start scouting their logs and caves,
creatures are sensing big change as nature
kindles a somberness. No trace of pale moon

lightening the sky or raising the curtain
on a stage of gloom. An impending doom
that seems queued to come, the planets hidden
and gossamer clouds hide red-tailed stars.

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Image credit: Shiny starlight (freedesignfile.com) colorized red

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Wesley (Wes) D. Sims

Wesley Sims has published two chapbooks of poetry, When Night Comes, Finishing Line Press, Georgetown, Kentucky, 2013, and Taste of Change, Iris Press, Oak Ridge, TN, 2019.  His work has appeared in Connecticut Review, G.W. Review, The South Carolina Review, Liquid Imagination, Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, Breath & Shadow, Plum Tree Tavern, American Diversity Report, Artemis Journal, Poem,  and others.

Latest posts by Wesley (Wes) D. Sims (see all)

• Cedar Christmas Tree by Wesley Sims - December 16, 2021
• Stage of Gloom by Wesley Sims - February 17, 2021
• Conversation with Cousin by Wesley Sims - October 15, 2020