Seattle Lights in Winter

 Through a seventeenth story window,
winter clouds crawl
above the twilight harbor.
Their underbellies flame
while they meander
in the sun’s obscurity
turning the bay to burgundy.
A Belltown evening wakes
early as the Pink Elephant splashes
green neon from its revolving sign
and across the street, the ferris wheel flashes
crimson and gold spokes into the night time.

The Space Needle stands
like a sentinel above the scene,
its winking signal
like a red iris
in the nightfall.

To the north, Interstate Five spirals
with the twinkling
of traffic on its way home.
It winds in necklaces
of radiant bone
and sparkling ruby lights
under the skies’ blue black heights.
Thousands of windows shine
like jeweled eyes amid the hills
of dimmed evergreens that hover
around the vibrant January chill
of Lake Union’s indigo waters.

The Space Needle stands
like a sentinel above the scene,
its winking red signal
like a red iris
in the nightfall.

2005