He left in darkness
driving north
on a road he was weary of travelling
As his city dwindled behind
he turned the radio dial and found music
until the signal sputtered and fell silent
Through the darkness the wheels rolled
their hum filling the silence
drawing him toward an uncertain destination
Around him, other cars slowly drew near
or eased away, in a relative dance
their headlights cutting the night
The mile markers passed, slowly ascending
until he reached that balancing point
when the city ahead lay just as far away
as the one he had left behind
Somewhere behind the clouds
the sun lifted up from the dark horizon
and light began falling on the world
In that moment he noticed
through the rain spattered passenger window
the first gleam of dawn’s early rising
The rolling hills over which he drove
emerged slowly from their shadows
revealing autumn foliage glimmering gold
As the light swelled it illuminated
the mists exhaled by a sodden earth
and the grey vapors began to glow
The low fog hovering over hedgerow and river
absorbed the golden amber
so that the yellow trees became one
with the glowing air all around them
The beautiful light filled his eyes
poured into his heart
and stirred his spirit
like graceful fingers on harp strings
For long, long moments
he floated above the road
in a radiant cloud of light
wondering, was love this way?
But the sun’s strength swelled
and burned away the fog’s fleeting fragments
to glare harshly at the windshields and billboards on the highway
He drove north
hiding in his heart
a handful of the beautiful light
hiding in his heart
a handful of the beautiful light
