Our Creatures

Midnight’s calm

Settled over the field

Drawing forth

The quiet of the forest,

Welcoming the visitors of the night,

Predators and their prey

That learned to function best

By the light of the moon,

Terrified of their bipedal oppressors,

Those that function best

Under the light of the sun,

Those who hide within

Their subconscious when the moon rises,

Locking the exterior world away,

Snuggled deeply into nests

They create from cotton and feather-

Occasionally a lone walker

Stumbles from their door

Into the night

To gaze upon the stars

And the brilliance of the moon,

Waiting for eyes to adjust

To the darkness,

For the forest to move back

To its original place

On outskirts of well used property-

Ears tune to the movements of the night

Paws moving stealthily through trail

Pat-pat-pat on decaying leaves

Scurrying past

Just outside of view

Sending chills down spines,

Alerting every nerve

To the proximity of the beast

Most feared but often forgotten

Until pulled back in time

By the absence of modernity,

Breath catches in throat,

As mind tries to focus

On the beauty of sky above-

A vulpine screech

Draws forth human scream

And fumbling fingers on doorknob

As human returns

To the safety of home,

Trading the outside world

For the dreamland created

Behind closed eyes.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

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