Midnight

Outside at midnight
I suddenly notice,
not far from the terracotta porch,
a slender ladder.

Its silver quenched with days of harvest,
it waits forgotten under the mandarin tree.
Feet sunken, shallow anchors
in a lake of dark grass.
Its head bathing in moonlight.

Above it,
Mandarin lampions
dimmed by evening’s veil.
Faded orange chronographs
in a country
indifferent to seasons.
But gravity still pulls.
Fructose hourglass.
Oval clocks ripening
to tell us how much
time has passed.

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by Christina Rupp, Artist in Residence

Christina Rupp is an artist and poet-in-residence, from Germany and South Africa. You can see more of her work at at www.christinarupp.com and https://www.instagram.com/christina.rupp/