Waiting For Sunlight
By Nat2

I went to the woods today.
It was cold and dark among the trees
Like the empty, abandoned tomb
Of a long-forgotten king.
The air was still and dry and soft
And filled with the ghosts of moths
Floating like the feathers of angels’ wings
Waiting for sunlight.
I treaded softly there
For fear of bending the blades of grass
The fallen leaves
The pale little flowers
That opened not long ago
Hoping for sunlight.
I didn’t know for what I searched
I didn’t know what I hoped to find
Perhaps a memory of a better time
A gentler time
A time long ago
When there was sunlight.
I came to the clearing
As I always did in those days
And waited in the shade-soft trees
Hoping for something
Watching the pale grass sway
Tracing bark with my fingertips
Waiting for sunlight.
Something stirred across the field
Something hidden in the trees
I heard the soft noise of hooves
Dancing over the ground
The flaring nostrils, watchful eyes
Watching for sunlight.
Like me, it waited
Breathing softly
Flanks twitching
Colored the same pale, lost-luster gleam
The same forgotten stain
The same memory of beauty
As the sunlight.
Who knows how long we waited
Facing each other but not seeing
Waiting patiently
Knowing that somehow
We would never see
Despite how long we stayed
Waiting for sunlight.
We parted ways when the moon rose
Spreading a silver web over the earth
Stars like spiders creeping along
Over the silken threads of night
Lighting the way for those who stayed
Waiting for sunlight.
The woods were cold and dark and still.
The moths gathered around
Disapproving, watching
Warning that these woods
Weren’t safe at night
Not without sunlight.
I never went back there
Not after that night
Not after the long moment
In which we both waited
But never saw
My beautiful sunlight.