count these days an echo
of ancient lullabies
a passage
made much sweeter
by the night

pressed between
the shadows –
rolled beneath the sun
lifetimes passed
into the failing light

spare the stars
your grieving
else they stay aloft too long
curs’ed dark –
a lantern burning bright

write
for me a reason
this tender world to hold –
longing frees
the poet heart
to flight

. . .