silent night

we walked tonight in silence
the dog running rings for us
following his tail up
instead of our mouths
running running

the sky was ironed-out colour
like sheets of high-thread-count cotton
on a wide, neglected bed
it made you breathe and yawn
walking slower

moving apart getting close
sometimes I preferred to stay off
the concrete path and you
took my waist and one time
I smelt your neck

all that light made its way
into my shoulders and held me up
like a newborn, like a shiny fragrant thing
able to shine its own torch into
underbrush and jaggedness

then we paused
it didn’t seem real
from way across the city
a concert filled the sky
spilling portentous from the stadium

we spoke then for a little while
quiet voices trying on the dark
letting my enticement out
the dog made arcs
in the faltering light.