A gift of New Year:
this subtle invasion,
the makings of peace.
We watched the quiver
of the yellow flames
during their downward drift,
jellyfish bobbing
across the night’s ocean.
We sipped brandy
against midnight air,
a boozy welcome to this
tipping over from one
time to another, these
slender distinctions.
A rogue light dropped
low, and passed
over the nearest rooftop,
and we hunted out its fall.
A wire frame and ash,
the blackened scrub,
a night animal departing,
from the visitation
were the remains. No matter
what drunken instinct
had inspired the wonder,
we walked back
into another future:
one which might be
glittering and numinous
beyond how we expect it.
Daniel Bennett was born in Shropshire and lives and works in London. His poems have been published in numerous places, including Atrium, Eye Flash Poetry Journal, and Under the Radar. His chapbook Arboreal Days is published by Red Ceilings Press.
