• Vol. 09
  • Chapter 11
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Night gifts

This night only, pale as frozen milk,
the light condensed into two colours only.
This night only, the clouds carry
a quiet sound of purring.
They say that the Leopard of Three Moons
comes once in a single lifetime.
They say that the Leopard of Three Moons
brings no fixed pathway, but velvet-paws
routes through the night palms
and through the tiny blinks of stuttering whales
and through the frail white threads of waves.
Tonight, she breathes conch shells
small enough to fit under your fingernails,
breathes the sound of a silver flute,
the scent of lychee and damask roses.
Tomorrow, when you wake,
the sky will be full of colour.

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