twilight
is not a time
but a quality of light
before or after darkness.

stars swim through the engulfing
emptiness--a boundless sea of promise
or of bitterness
and dream is a short hallway
with two open ends

what is illuminated
by sunlight, moonlight
or lamplight
slowly emerges from darkness :
the face of memory
with its birthmarks
and scars

there are gray threads
needling through
the dark waterfall
of memory's time-invaded hair

where is the thin line
between imagination
and truth
between instinct
and faith
between love
and indifference

leafless trees
and abandoned villages
speed through me

someone might have loved me once