Nocturnal flower
In need of sleep
Your petals wilt
The count for sheep

New dawn unpromised
The die is cast
A croupier blocking
Sun’s setting mask

Through endless courtship
Dreams on the run
A jester whispers
Till sleep has come

The meadow sparse
Its reaper gone
New light unspoken
  —your buds in song

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)