WHO IS THE STRANGER WHO OVERTAKES ME

Who is the stranger who overtakes me

On a dark street and taps me on the shoulder?

I turn and there is nobody there but me,

And lights go on in the house on the corner.

I am familiar with the moment of waking,

Sometimes from a dream, mostly from pure silence

And darkness. But I have never been able to discern

The moment when sleep descends

And takes the book from my hands, the light

From my bedside table, my lover’s hand

From mine. It is a mystery as unfathomable

As Death, which I suppose will be as gentle

And fleeting, an angel-guide for the lost ghost.

I shall wonder forever about these things

Like a child winking at the mirror, trying

To catch a glimpse of myself with my eyes closed.