Earth and sky have joined forces. Water and sky are one.
Night transforms and makes smooth our differences.

The far places have no horizon.
Night dissolves our borders.

Children fear what is hidden.
Let night comfort you with its gentle hand.

Adults toss with troubled thoughts.
Let night take you in its arms.

Lovers find each other.
Night’s velvet softens our gaze, shelters the vulnerable.

The sick woman in the hospital watches night from her window.
She does not fear stepping into darkness.

The addict rushes to night without patiently waiting.
May we greet the night with courage.

Why do we stumble, rushing as if it is day?
Night, what do you make of pleas and prayers sent through you?
I am endless and hear every voice.

Peggy Turnbull, a retired academic librarian, lives in Manitowoc. Some of her recent publications can be found in The Main Street Rag, Pangolin Review, and The Raven Review. Her first chapbook, The Joy of Their Holiness, received an honorable mention in the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets 2021 Chapbook Contest.