Factors That Might Have Influenced My Decision

The sun set before the moon rose tonight.

My brights caught the eyes of a young, agile cat
      darting across the road.

The roadrunner tried to catch a hummingbird
      as it hovered at her feeder.

Five bucks are known to stand in the brush
      behind those feeders. 

My brights illuminated the back of a doe
      who slowly lifted her head. 

Her daughter was not there when it happened;
      still, it felt like a healing place to her.

Her hair was white now.

Two smooth, pale rocks rest together on the counter
      before an imagined coyote. 

Her old lover was too interested in his long-haired 
      students.

But real coyotes still howl there, even their pups.

It is so, for the kneeling nun watches over it all;
      so I turned off my lights and parked. 

Tonight — the stars are uncountable.