Twilight, Halfway To The Other Side Of The World

twilight, halfway to the other side of the world

the shamaal winds excite the leaves
like flags of prayer,
then –

high on the hill, three figures –
no, six –
three of them are sheep and
they are going the wrong way

so, one man leaves silhouette behind, runs
rolling downhill
a small white pebble

the sheep, the three double back, disappear
behind the trees,
until only the sun is left

to fall

to turn the sky all the colours of the ocean at dawn

a chill, a loss of light, music that awaits me
by my bed,
another world beyond this paling one