Chiaroscuro

Dogshadow and manshadow Flood over cobbled path Like dark liquid Underneath forlorn streetlamps.

Headlights down below in the distance Look like frightened deer’s eyes,

Snake up the winding road Until their eyes are like dragon’s Spinning our shadows around violently And the roar of wind rushes into silence.

The wrought iron gates hung at a useless angle From rusted hinges provide scant protection For the slanting broken gravestones In the moonlit cemetery From vandals and lovers.

Sometimes I think that Death must be The most interesting subject on earth The way it draws life away from The day-to-day things of this world.