Sentence picked from The Essex Serpant, by Sarah Perry: “A young man walks down by the banks of the Blackwater under the full cold moon.”

 

Dark green waters take on nightly shades, and now,

Blackwater Bay, would make a fine name for such a scene.

Cold weather, river banks and a full moon strain the senses –

Is this repose calm?

Or is the night eerie in design?

A night for walks, is one for the imagination –

Yet alone with thoughts is full company.

Young is the night by and large,

But the spirit feels aged under the moon’s weight.

 

Down the road, a man, young, strolls along

With light steps, and placid shoulders.

For him, the shadows dance.