I saw the lady of the night
in my dreams, in my fears,
and she spoke to me as if
she knew my name and saw
my life strung out and filled
with all its pleasure and pain;
and she said to me in a voice
unknown but known complete:
“Where have you been–where are
you going? I have been looking
for you and calling for you to
come, to come to me, and I will
take you from all this, to home.”
I woke and night still lay across
my body shaking with the cold,
and I drew the blankets close
and began to think about the words
and the call to come; and as I
wondered, she came beside me
and lay with the dark and I heard
her breath and I sensed her call
again, and she took my hand
and led me gently without force
into the thickening black of night.
7/2/2022