Snail At Moonrise

Each night, Snail
unhooks himself from earth,
climbs a slick trail of silver
up, up
the horizon of log,
up stems of leaves
to their dewy tips,
seeking
with his tiny sandpaper tongue
morsels of green
to mix in his dark, moist body
and spin
into whorls of light.

Shell-maker
Moon-maker
gleaming silver-bright.
Each night:
darkness
into
light.

The poem by Joyce Sidman and illustration by Rick Allen are from Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night.