architect of night-bridges

he lives among the stars, 

a charioteer of constellations. 

wielding a diaphanous lasso, 

he retrieves and rearranges 

those blazing, 

blinking orbs. 

he’s an architect of night-bridges:

perching on the ledge, 

he casts a silver thread.

sometimes he catches dogs 

chasing ghost rabbits,

elephants singing lullabies, 

children helming pirate ships. 

like the Bard’s mischievous Puck, 

he drips spells into their ears 

and chortles at 

the comical consequences.

he’s a celestial wanderer 

who long ago lost his name. 

but there are nights when 

he misplaces a star and 

the foundation rattles beneath 

his feather-light feet. 

there are also times when 

his dangling line snags a sleeper 

whose face seems 

strangely familiar.

he’s a sprite of light, a navigator 

of nocturnal adventures 

who—just before dawn—dismantles 

his creations, flinging the stars 

back into space, where 

(like magnets)

they fall correctly into place.

he traipses about the galaxy, 

colorless mane trailing

like a comet in the black, 

sharp eyes surveying 

the waking world below. 

unaware that he’s waiting

for his beloved twin’s rebirth 

to draw him back to Earth—

a mortal looking up at the stars.

A native Floridian, Crystal Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in speculative stories. When she’s not busy with librarianship or reading/writing, she’s usually looking for ways to spoil her pets or stopping traffic to rescue animals. She enjoys world travel and has had the incredible fortune to spend time in the UK, Iceland, and New Zealand. Her work has appeared/is forthcoming in 34 Orchard, Apparition Lit, diet milk, The Dread Machine, Frozen Wavelets, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Martian Magazine, Strange Horizons, and others. You can find her (barely tweeting) on Twitter @sidellwrites.