Night Animal

Tell me softly night animal, where do you run to hide?
What worlds do you build beneath your feet as you search the dark so wide
Looking for a place to sleep, a place to rest your head
Night animal, tell me, where do you hold your heart once it has bled? 

Night animal, I know the things your dancing eyes have seen
I run beside you in the dark, I live my life between
Day and night and sweet twilight is when I feel my lungs sing gold
Night animal, if we flee fast enough, perhaps we will not feel the cold

For wings of frost and fur and wild, ferns that reach the stars so high
And summer breezes carry scents of sweat that tell you how you’re meant to die
And whisper to you in your ear that your breath is just like mine
And together we may live in fear, but night animal, how your hair still shines

And shows me worlds inside my head and places I can run to
And visions raise me from my bed and chase me where I come to
I never want to dream again, I never want to sleep
Night animal take me to your world, night animal, I am yours to keep
            
                                                                                                                                          E. Falter 3/15/25