I stepped outside last night,
hoping to see a sky
full of stars.
One of the cats slinked out behind
me. She didn’t mind
that it was dark. To me
it was ominous and black. A breeze
played tunes in the chimes
hanging from the willow tree,
but not a star was there to be seen.
An owl hooted from the silver
birch, but there was no moon,
nothing to turn its eyes to embers.
I heard the thud of my heart,
the tiptoe of cat claws,
the rustle of last autumn’s leaves.
No stars. Just sounds.
Kim M. Russell, 26th February 2025
A poem about the dark for Sherry’s prompt at What’s Going On? this Wednesday.
Sherry has shared poems by Wendell Berry, Carl Sandburg, Mary Oliver and Emily Dickinson to inspire us.
writing in north norfolk 
Sometimes I close my eyes when I am outside to do just that. Listen to the sounds.
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I love those night sounds.
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“it was ominous and black.” All the details contribute to this sense. Lovely poem.
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Thank you, Susan.
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I could feel the darkness as I read….and almost heard the cat claws. Smiles. Lovely to hear an owl.
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Thank you, Sherry. I heard a woodpecker last week.
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And those are lovely sounds, Kim.
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Thank you, Punam.
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Those dark nights have an ominous feel to them….especially if you can’t see ANY stars. I loved the details you included, Kim.
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Thank you, Mary.
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Oh Wow! How the nightly sounds are waking up! “A breeze / played tunes in the chimes / hanging from the willow tree,” totally oblivious of the ‘ominous and black’ night as it were. A delightful read Kim.
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Thank you so much, Sumana!
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I love it.
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Thank you, Elise!
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It can be very spooky when you can’t see your landmarks, even in the sky. OTOH, full moons freak me out, so there’s that, too!
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Even in my own garden I can be spooked!
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I’d run back inside! And my cat is a “scaredy-cat.” He probably wouldn’t even have slinked out there either (which is just as well, since we have coyotes around here!).
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We don’t have anything as exciting as coyotes – just pheasants, squirrels, deer, owls, a woodpecker and, sometimes, a heron. There are other things that we don’t see, like moles, voles, rats.
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“just sounds” can be so intimidating at times. Love where you took the prompt.
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Thank you, Susie.
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I tried to step outside the other night to see the planets aligned but, it was too cloudy. sigh… I think sometimes the sounds of darkness are more frightening then the darkness. It feels eerie.
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It certainly does.
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I’d stand, applauding, and cheer but, ummm….Shhhh
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My lips are sealed…
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There are always sounds in the darkness.
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There are, some comforting, like the owl, and some scary.
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