NIGHT'S DAWN

I beg indulgence in posting 1 poem in 3 forms. I will make amends by not posting tomorrow.

I watched the woods return to sleep
there in the wooded hollow deep
yet for some reason I still stayed
at my post next to a grown up glade.

All save the stars was pitch black
and the wind had become slack
due to lack of any light
Details in the world were slight.

Life was hushed, if there at all
not even insects' slightest call
alone in a dark silent place.
Was it, perhaps, a mere preface?

For in the east the stars grew dim .
I now could see both trunk and limb.
Tiny rustles in hidden brush
at last broke the haunting hush.

Then a silver top appears
as nocturnal lunar dawning nears.
I hear a far coyote call
far, far beyond the forest's wall.

Just then a barred owl finds its voice
inquiring as to my cook's choice,
then the night light clears the trees
along with slightest puff of breeze.

The full moon shadows ignite night's life
which although muted becomes rife.
An opossum scuttles his way by,
bats flicker through a bug filled sky.

My head turned at a snap of twig
and in the shadows something big
steps into a moonlit space.
A deer's outline my eyes now trace.

Deer, coyotes, 'possums,even skunks
mainly at night dodge through tree trunks,
a dark world so seldom seen by man
has come to life around my stand.

Although reluctant, I must depart
not to worry she who holds my heart.
My clumsy footsteps make all scurry.
I'll get home to warm supper if I hurry.

..........Haiku......

All dark and silence
'till full moon signals shift change
and night shift arrives

.......Free Verse

The sun long set
yet I remain
here in the woods beside a glade
.in
....total
.......silent
..........darkness

Only dim star light
which bars details
of a windless world
seeming lifeless
...as if
.........awaiting

Eastern stars dim
but not by much
as silver sliver appears
...seen through distant trees
..........coincidence?
that first puff of wind
...first rustle of life appears
........now?

distant coyote mourns
.......and near barred owl sounds
........both herald the arrival
.........of full moon

Is it the shadows or light
which awakens the nocturnals
matters not to me

For now the wait is rewarded
as life becomes rife
bats FlIcKeR in the sky
..'possums,rabbits, skunks
..................scurry
A twig
..a snap
.....a deer
transforms from shadow to moonlight

But now comes my time
......to leave
for love and home
for the time has become
half past night's dawn