As the sun’s rays paint the endless blue sky
with staggering brush strokes of oranges and yellows,
the moon shows its delicate face and
the stars begin to wake.

Street lamps flicker to life while
houses begin setting off a soft glow through curtained windows.
Inside, vegetables steam on the stove top
like the iron gliding over dad’s button-up dress shirts.

Highways are flooded with headlights like laser beams
standing in for the lost natural light, and
brake lights egg on feelings of frustration
from weary commuters.

Darkness settles upon the city
slowly,
then all at once,
as dusk leads the way for nightfall.