The stars smile down
beyond the bonfire blaze
crystals piercing the veil
of velvet night

We awaken something primal
an animal ancestor
who seeks the darkness
ready to run into abandon

The winter nights
almost pagan in their beauty
call to the god within us
at rest behind distraction

A better self rising
into power unspoken
a poem in the pulse
driving the blood through our veins

Against morning sun
it seems no more than a dream
a wistful perfection
we barely remember

While nightfall calls
a drumbeat leading steps
into a nature
we can no longer cast aside – Caroline A. Slee