above the water

in the still
of the night
the phantoms wreathe
above the water

raveling
unraveling
adrift

they retire
reluctantly
as day creeps
growing
lume by lume
until they are hidden

and the brightness
rules
for a short while

the brightness rules
only
for a short while

night will fall
again
for the phantoms
to recall their misty shapes

they feed on the cold
on the night
on the heart

unraveling tendrils
they touch
they take

denser in the night
beware
the phantoms wreathe
in the dark of your dreams
above the water

~

Poem #540 from a series of poems drawn from the imagination and collected as: a Bachelard reverie.