as the sun sinks,
glorious pinks
and oranges are splashed across the sky.
the breezes die,
the willows sigh,
and silent melodies puncture the air.
time creeps past,
and now the last
light is fading beyond the horizon.
colors are gone
until the dawn
and in the meantime reign the shades of gray.
as darkness gapes,
indistinct shapes
play mindgames with the nighttime observer.
shadows entice,
calling once, twice,
beckoning one into the shades of gray.
the mockingbird's song
tells of no wrong,
scorning Deity's lines of black and white.
clouds hide the moon,
hinting that soon
the starlight too will yield to their darkness.
a cold wind blows,
and in its throes
ring bitterly discordant harmonies.
time still crawls,
heedless of calls
that cry out and embrace the shades of gray.
feelings abused,
thinking confused
the nighttime observer stumbles away.
beaten and torn,
he yearns to mourn
but has lost his soul to the shades of gray.
by beverly jacobson
