Sarah Raybould Sarah is a poet and GP in the Derbyshire Peak District in England. She can usually be found hiking up a hill whilst writing poetry and her writing is often inspired by the uplands and moorlands where she lives. This particular poem was about a night walk with her daughter to try and see the aurora borealis, without success, and is therefore dedicated to her daughter, Annabelle.
We are Night Travellers
witness to peeping shadows,
people asleep, plotting with Morpheus,
a day slumping into heavy-lidded dark.
The moon dips her tail in ink and like an oil spill
tips downhill. We serpent into obscurity
to escape the heart-stopping,
rat-race, bustle of shop-hopping, box ticking,
chance-taking, blinkered pursuit of something
more. Embrace this
well
of silence slipping into gritstone gullies.
Behind us the rooftops are devoured,
chimney pots relenting to wraiths that bend in
and out, out and in
between the waltzing silver stars,
and softly, softly fell the night,
her gloved fingers reaching into mine
to grasp last lantern’s light.