She peaks out through midnight eves

And crunches lightly on fallen leaves.

Her pale opalescent skin glows,

Shimmering from head to toe

As moonlight dances in midnight eyes,

And sparkles like stars in midnight skies.

Owls watch her graceful form

As daylight dies and night is born.

Bright butterflies give way to moths

And spiders spin their web-like cloths.

Blue birds sleep and bats take flight

As she carefully brings the night.

Her long black dress over land flows

As she ascends and casts shadows.

She’ll kiss the Sun along the way

And make him blush as he runs away.

For this is their sweet love affair,

This allusive, polar, cosmic pair.

A cool wind comes to brush her cheek,

And thus her skirts will further sweep;

It will spread dandelion seeds

And make roll the tumbleweeds.

Water laps along the bank

As her stars reflect upon the lake.

The sunset pales as she goes

While fireflies tickle her toes.

And if you stay up late one night,

And strain to watch The Lady’s flight,

The Midnight MaidenKARA MAE ADAMO

POETRY 57

Please stay quiet if you care:

You can hear her laughter in the air.

When darkness has become complete,

And each side of the sky it meets,

Her rumored friends of light and wings

Will venture out among the greens.

Out of flower buds they’ll wake

And flutter out towards the lake.

They will dance with fluid grace,

Protected by her dark embrace.

And each night they greet her with

A performance of enchanted myth.

Upon the rippling lake’s surface,

The fairies’ feet lightly caress.

They bow and twirl and show their love

For the Midnight Maiden up above.

But if your curious eyes do sneak

Through the trees for a peak,

The shy fairies’ll know you’re there

And shall vanish into thin air.

For mortal minds shall know them not,

As—like fireflies—they’ll jar the lot.

They’ll carry the fairy in to play,

And it’ll turn to dust within a day.

For even the dim light of dawn and dusk

Can turn a fairy to fairy dust.

So they await the dark of night

To come out and to take flight.

Spot lit by her distant stars,

They greet her as she floats afar.

She does cherish the ballet gift

Offered by her friends of myth.

For darkness can bring into light

The secret creatures of the night

That fly and crawl and softly creep

Outside your window as you sleep.

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