Arts Alive San Antonio

“First Dark” was written by Ken Hada while the Oklahoma poet was sheltering-in-place and seeing few people. Hada is the author of eight poetry collections and a professor at East Central University in Ada, OK. The image of a man standing in the twilight is the work of Brazilian artist Breno Andrade.

First Dark
By Ken Hada

In the southeast sky
it comes first,
a blanket gently drawn,
a bed of comfort
awaiting your entry,
body and soul.

You know it will be darker, 
much darker, before long –  
and who is qualified   
to curse deep, unlighted night?

But it is that first dark
that excites me, entices.
I crane my neck toward 
endlessness.

I cannot look away.
Southern breezes simmer
with the sounds
of seduction.