Nightblind

At first it was only the road signs–
The letters and symbols
Grew little coats of fur,
But then the cars went fuzzy,
Filmed with twilight.
Soon the afternoon was awash
With particles of darkness
Gathering like lint on sweaters,
Like snow on sidewalks–
Condensing into black clouds at night.
There’s nothing they can do–
There are no glasses
To part the darkness,
No human headlights
To spear the shapes ahead.
Someday we’ll all wear helmets,
With infrared lenses
Like exotic eyes,
And look like martians piloting sedans
(We conquer space,
But cannot cure the night);
Till then I’m trapped in daytime–
A prisoner of the light.