THE LADY OF THE NIGHT

Jasmine hides the night's sadness in its fragrance.

As silence seizes control,

shrouding the darkness in an impenetrable veil,

and threatening to expose the tender flesh of still-raw wounds,

I breathe her in, letting her essence seep

into the fissures of my soul,

a gentle balm soothing the ache within.

Raat Rani, the lady of the night,

she unfurls her petals,

a whispered promise of solace in the shadows,

and her magnetic aura

draws all the creatures of the dark.

I too find myself charmed,

but I dare not venture out to

witness her nocturnal dance,

instead, in the stillness,

I spend my time confronting my scars.

And when yet another night

finally passes without incident,

I claim no victory, but silently whisper a prayer,

and hum a song of gratitude,

for the quiet art of endurance.

And for the lady of the night,

who has taught me

how to mourn without breaking,

and how to find my way

through the night's desolate landscapes.

This poem was one of the winning entries in the Unicorn Magazine's Weekly Challenge dated September 20, 2025. The line prompt was "Jasmine hides the night's sadness in its fragrance".