Night and Day
Night and Day
Night loved Day so much,
she folded back her dark, starlit cloak
to make more room for Day’s light to bloom
and spill gold over the World.
Day’s light touched every river, every stream.
It kissed the leaves and the trees
and caressed the fields and meadows.
She gazed at her reflection on all seven seas
and shone.
But her beauty burned too long,
her laughter ran too far.
Fields cracked beneath her joy,
crops withered to dust.
Leaves lost their color,
branches turned to brittle bone,
and rivers dried to silent beds.
On the ground,
the People cried out for mercy,
for shade.
Day had grown vain,
hungering for more light.
Night heard the prayers.
She spread out her arms and let her cloak fall.
She lingered in the morning,
just a little longer,
blocking Day just a little more
every day.
Her love for Day was outshone
by her love for the People and for Nature.
She hid Day’s brilliance
behind her stars and constellations.
The cool blanket over the World.
Rivers filled once again with sweet water,
dreams returned to the weary.
Yet when Day awoke again,
her glow brushed against Night’s cheek,
and Night remembered
why she had loved her so fiercely.
She loosened her resolve,
let the stars fall,
and dawn spilled wider and warmer,
until World sighed again beneath too much light.
And so they danced
as two lovers chasing the sweet balance,
never learning it,
ever learning it,
their tenderness carving the seasons
from the ache of their endless love.
The Voice
December 2025
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(YWP Editor's Note: Congratulations to Csquared! This poem is the November 2025 winner of The Tomorrow Project's monthly awards! It was written in response to the challenge, Life Gifts: "Little, name...
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