On this quiet, summer night,

my eyes wander, my soul stirs.

Somewhere a cricket chirps,

an owl hoots, a cat purrs,

A twig crackles, a muffled note

from a sheltered bird;

Leaves rustling; a feline screech;

a squirrel’s scamper,

swift as an arrow beyond reach;

Not far away, towering high

are trees of old, canopied

Beneath a brilliant, jeweled sky,

The solitude grabbing my senses;

The moon doing what it must,

Romancing with the stars around

with its incandescent thrust.

Over the hills, beyond this range,

I watch the tiny specks of light

blinking at the twinkling stars

in the stillness of the night,

calm, unfazed and undisturbed,

As if singled out as being

witnesses to a  mystery

that my wistful eyes are seeing.

A distant, muffled interruption

penetrates the solitude

over the hills, beyond the trees –

What could it be, or is it just

The playful wind, a quickened breeze?

Time seems to falter, as I see

Night’s unyielding, restless charm –

a sweet, symphonic overture

of such tranquility and calm!