DUSK/COMPLINE

At dusk when earth
releases colors
to the sky,
and trees and homes
fall into shadows,
our eyes rejoice
in bursts of grace and glory.
Softly birds sing compline
hymns to call us
to great silence.
On our knees
we pray for sleep
and easy death
to sooth our weary,
earthly bones.
The heavens release
some scattered drops
of rain from wispy clouds,
a baptism
as we enter night,
returning to our sacred womb.
A pillow prepared
to hold my head,
lies on the ground
to beckon me.
In morning I’ll awake
to see the colors
of Eden’s dawn.