Contributor: Cynthia Pitman

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Dedicated to Rebecca Pitman

Keep the blinds closed.
Draw the drapes.
Touch the shadows.
Ask them their names.
They will keep you company
here in the moondark
as the heft of night’s emptiness
presses down.
Pour them a drink.
Listen.
Be still.
The smooth slide of bourbon
coats the curves of the crystal.
Soft and sharp blend as one.
Cry just a little.
No one will see.
Only the darkness that enfolds you
in its vague gray haze.
Wait for the morning.
Throw open the dark.
Watch it retreat.
The sun will then come
and call out the shadows again.
Wait for their embrace.


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I began writing poetry again last spring after a 30-year hiatus. This poem was written for my daughter, Rebecca, after her husband, Kevin Nagle, died on 11/26/18.