It's Still Life

The heat of the day continues to rise from the pavement – the night, fragrant-warm with jasmine and night phlox. A woman concealed behind lace opens a window to catch the breeze, candlelight guided across the walls. Her children twist and turn in their bedsheets, sleep held in the eyes of sky. It’s humid. The air is thick and strained, and the moon swings low. Its light is sharp against the dark horizon, and a bird chirps alarm, loud and clear, its complaint at night’s brightness. And as sudden as rain drops, a fox steps out of the thicket, its ears keen to caution. It stops in the middle of the road, sniffs the air, and slips quietly under a gate across the street. It’s nightlife, until the muscle of dawn arrives.

Words: 136. Poems ©Misky 2023. Written for Lights Out, Unicorn Challenge.