Time has entered the netherworld of dusk
indefinable in terms of dark and light
a brownish gray or grayish brown
hovering around the world like a thick
blanket of flannel or bees
I can see perfectly well—I don"t realize
how late it"s grown or how dark
until a streetlight flickers, sputters
and the amber liquid light pushes
back the dusk, tucking it neatly
into place around the edges of night.
Leaving the quad, the coolness of evening
pressed against me, the grass slightly damp
on my hands and knees as I stand and
turning my leather shoes a shade darker,
I think it might be easier, much quicker too
if I take the path through the woods.
The tarmac is dusty and the lighted
library windows pass me, students
inside watching as I go by,
cagey looks on their faces, hunted look
