My soul waits for the Lord, more than the watchman waits for the morning” Ps
130:6 .
I've often said to new recruits,
(stamping their frozen feet along the ramparts
on their first night watch)
"It's wrong to think that
night is only darkness.'
"See ! A thousand stars,
like tiny pinpricks in the
velvet of the sky,
and the moon's cold glow,
texture the land with shadow
You can see more than you
think!
Night vision is the skill
of telling apart a million
shades of grey.”
"The task’s important,”
I remind them,
“One of you at least, must spot
the unexpected enemy or welcome
guest
- the bane or blessing -
and, with clarion call,
draw sleepers from their beds
and chase away their dreams.
This is a job for heroes!”
I have tried to sound
convincing.
The night watch need a
platitude or two
to prop their eyelids open.
But, if truth be known,
the sight I've longed for most
in these cold hours
appears, not on the road, but in
the sky,
as sunrise inches colour through
the grey
and melts the icy stars
and drowns the moon in light.
Anne Le Bas. 23rd Dec 96
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