Here, the night is yours.  

No one lurking in its dark folds.  

Marvel in the journey.   

Rest your head against a tree bole,

slide onto a dilapidated bench,

or march into Green Lake.   

No one will ask where you’ve been.  

Enter night’s quietude, pull it inside you.

You are beholden to the Milky Way,  

the maples, and stones tripping feet.  

You don’t grow more balanced,

but find ease with being unbalanced.   

Even in solitude, you aren’t.  

The crows, the caterpillars,

the squirrels in their dreys.

The ground you traverse

will not mislead you.  

It will hold you up.

Janée J. Baugher
Seattle, Washington

Janée J. Baugher, originally from Renton, is the author of the collection of poems, Coördinates of Yes (Ahadada Books, 2010). She teaches Creative Writing at Richard Hugo House.  Visit: http://JaneeJBaugher.wordpress.com