Evening
- Evening
It is time to be tired, now.It is time to be quiet.
The cherry tree is drunkon breezes; its blossomsclot the air, or bleed into dust.
Light will not fail us,nor will darkness.They come like sheep.They turn like pages.
I will pull down the shade.It is night, now.The fig has sprouted new leaves.The stars glitter on and on.
And if prayer counts,I will pray to be lifted, and askthat morning deliver more light.
And tomorrow, I will look outat the bright worldto see if something brighter listened. [End Page 521]
Judith Harris is the author of two books of poems, Atonement and The Bad Secret; a critical book, Signifying Pain: Constructing and Healing the Self Through Writing; and a new book of poems, Night Garden (Tiger Bark Press, 2013). Her poems have appeared in The Nation, The Atlantic, and Narrative.
