A silent shadow flickers across The threshhold of a dream, Whispering in a voice softer than the sigh Released with an escaping soul. Stalking the darkest hues of the night, A panther on its velvet paws With slender claws still sheathed. The darkness wraps the figure like a shroud, Caressing, protecting, Stronger than the brightest diamond, Softer than a lover's first halting touch. A form emerges, hesitant, Itself the most subtle chiaroscuro Against the flat planes of reality. The zephyr dances in with the witching hour To caress the hair flowing like a sable stream, Sweeping it up as its partner into complex steps Like those of the waves dancing with the sun-strewn sands. A smile flickers, nearly hidden by gleeful shadows, Yet radiating a beacon of radiance all its own. A heartbeat or two the world stands frozen Like a deer framed against the blackness by piercing headlights, Frightened to move, to stir, to even breathe. A moment, An eternity. Then, in the fleetest particle of an instant, The figure is gone, Darker than the deepest shadows, Leaving the night darker still In absence.