The Night.
Nightfall.
And when darkness came, it came quickly. At first the silence fell across the darkness, and the last glimmer of light disappeared. And as the darkness grew stronger, the songs of the birds were heard no more, but were replaced by the sounds of the multitudes of nocturnal insects, and frogs croaking in the rivers, dams and other low lying damp areas.
The night birds took to flight. Those of them that were birds of prey took to high vantage points in the trees, and awaited their quarry, from their concealed posts. Others flew about in search of a feast of insect life. And the night acquired a life of its own.
And still the darkness grew stronger, as the stars started glimmering above, and the moon came out from her hiding place beyond the horizon.
The Long Night.
The night was long, twas long indeed. It was filled with activity from those small creatures and insects that inhabited her dark womb, and who only ventured about at night. And the night was filled a beautiful chorus of noise as crickets sang their mating songs in the underbrush, and frogs croaked for the same purpose all across the dark evening.
Occasionally a few birds would fly across the dark night sky, and then settle somewhere else nearby, to wait or to sleep. Sometimes the roar of a mighty cat would echo through the night, disturbing the security of their prey, and giving them no easy night's rest. Jackals and other canines would start to howl at the brilliant white moon late in the evening, howling their sad and lonely songs.
Overhead the dark sky would sparkle in brilliance, as the stars were strewn out in cosmic glory, across the expanse of the black night. And the moon beamed bright and clear and true above. The wind swept across the mountains and the plains that were shrouded in darkness. The wind swept the clouds across the beautiful dark night sky, and occasionally they would break out in rain on the land and the creatures below.
The rain would fall hard and soft on the ground, and give sustenance to the plants and the animals of the magnificent world. And all of creation was in perfect balance under the brilliant star strewn sky, as the rain drenched the dark brown soil, and the wind stirred the leaves in the trees.
And the world was dark, for the whole long night, and still the lives of the creatures on it continued unchanged. The antelope herds took cover in safe thickets of bush, and tried to gather a few hours rest, yet they were always wakeful for predators. And the predators roamed the darkness in search of easy prey.
Still the stars shone brightly above, and the moon kept its shine, and the wind stirred the air currents, as the world spun slowly on its axis. And the creation of nature was perfect.
Before Dawn.
Long before dawn, the first glimmer a light re-appeared to the world, in a feint hue. The almost total darkness was gradually changed to a world of semi-darkness. The stars grew dimmer, and the moon vanished behind the further horizon.
The birds resumed their songs of the day before, in anticipation of the one to come, and well before dawn the air was filled with their beautiful noise. A cacophony of bird song in the darkness.
And still the light grew stronger on that further horizon, as the animals stirred from their night's rest, and the wind stirred the grass and the trees.
And the world prepared for the breaking of the new day.
Copyright ' JP Brown ' 06/08/2005.
