**A short story... hope the ending isn't too confusing. Enjoy.**
There was no moon that night. Aislin always remembered how the sky looked, for the stars still burned as bright as ever in her mind even years later, but there was always that empty space where the moon should have been.
Dance with me, elegant shadow!
take my warm fingers into your cool palm,
dance with me, dance with me, shadow!
across the moonlit lawn
Dance with me, bright-eyed shadow,
and spin me through the pale light
of the clock-face and star-falls
of the first autumn night
Dance with me, fleet-footed shadow!
Let the music be our guide,
let the notes of the bat-calls keep ringing
as they flit beneath the sky
Star-strewn, it glitters
blackened, and bright
Something held her at the topmost stair,
another hand beside her own
and the ghostly wind through the night pulsed soft,
Was it music or did it moan?
She was drawn out toward the night
like a moth drawn to the light
To fly into the candle,
to fly into the flame,
is to be more than courage,
is to rise above shame
And the ellum awoke and shook themselves
and they wept for something that only they felt
And she nearly stepped out into the star-swirling dark
Night breathes as deep as day,
but it doesn't sigh
bugs buzz faintly, encircling warmth
and fireflies blink lazily,
on and off,
on and off
Then a sudden burst shatters quiet,
booming, slicing, crack!
they burst upon my sight,
for a second, blazing
electric-blue chrysanthemums,
bigger than the moon under wispy clouds, hazy
and then they wilt, slowly,
disappearing
Golden shrieks crackle and snap
upon the smoky grey-black
a velevety sky,
invisible stars
Smoothly, upon the wings of night eagles,
it rises,
and swiftly is carried aloft by the wind
white as stars,
it flutters
before being caught again
then, floating,
before the grey of a new dawn
the wind slows, then is gone
the eagles have vanished, for now
the moon is watching
pale, and marked,
just as this is,
this thing that gently brushes against wet grass
in front of your house
You come out in the morning,
the sun is yawning,
that early
there it is,
Breathless darkness,
sparks in the air
Scattering stars
wind in my hair
Tumbling through fields,
light touch of feathers
Song of the earth
echoes forever
Heartbeat and dirt,
trees sway in the night
Shadows and flame
glowing orange, bright
Smell of the forest
cool air on my cheeks,
running, heart soaring
no words do I speak
Orion the Brave,
with his arrows and bow
he hunts in the sky
and the way he does show
The silent, still darkness
Tick, tick, tick
of the kitchen clock
Shadows and quiet
Moonbeams through the window
drenching the smooth floor
in silver
Soft carpet,
hushed wind,
dark room
illuminated by colored lights
yellow and blue and red and green
strung around, weaving along the branches
of a tall evergreen
Twinkling silver and gold
hung on every bough
Glowing, magical
Soundless, beautiful
mysterious, wonder
Dreams upon their gossamer wings
come drifing down upon us
white and sparkling
like falling snowflakes,
glittering
The form of some sprite
or elven-like figure
tiny feet barely touching the surface
the sill of the window
silent, they creep
their delicate features,
angled in expressions of kindliness,
mischief,
happiness,
caring
touch as light as baby's breath
or soft raindrops upon skin
or downy feathers
They hover, silent,
or dart playfully above
Pure joy,
so good, so wonderful
just the memory makes my heart soar
I can still feel the wind
as cold as the snow
and the ice all around us
as it rushed through my hair
as I spun around, twirling,
my mind spinning, whirling
reveling in the new revelation
And the yellow light, spilling
from the windows and doors
and the darkness that glittered
with crystal stars up above
Just the sound of laughter,
and the sight of a smile
makes my soul lift even higher
Running, and spinning,
The spider, her small form above
the bed where I lay to sleep
Her thin legs carry her
in circles, in zigzags
with fine silk behind her
She weaves and she moves
silent, intently
she spins and she weaves
she spins and she weaves
the stuff of my dreams