Peace
The shadows of dusk draw close
As day departs and night creeps in
Like mist upon the moor, swathed in inky black.
The shadows veil a house, sitting upon a quiet street,
Almost invisible in the gathering gloom.
But if one were to peer through the cloak of night,
One would see a candle, burning far past midnight.
Illuminating a room where a black-robed professor sits,
Perusing a journal of herbs and elixirs.
A softly simmering cauldron sits in a corner
Giving off a heady aroma, soothing lavender and honey,
Mingles with cinnamon.
The clock upon the mantle ticks slowly down
But hours slip by on cat's feet, unremarked.
An ordinary day, the man thinks, a rarity
Unlooked for and therefore doubly precious,
To offset all the other days of blood and fire.
When the stench of death clogged his nostrils
And his ears were filled with the screams of the dying.
But all that is past, and at last he can have the peace
So hard fought for, so bitterly won.
Here, in solitude and silence, he can begin
To find a measure of healing. Alone with
His potions and the raven perched behind his head
He revels in the quiet of a warm summer evening.
The sleepy chirp of insects drifts in from the
Half-open window, coming from the carefully
Tended garden, of flowers and vegetables.
The cruel war at last is over, and the dead eternally sleeping.
The children are safe at last, in their beds a'dreaming
Thanks to a spy's sacrifice they have learned a new meaning
Of courage and honor, of promises made and kept.
Tomorrow they might come, and knock upon the door,
Eyes bright and eager, to learn a subtle craft,
The long unappreciated art of a perfect potion.
But for now he is free, to read at leisure, eyes flicking
From page to bubbling cauldron and back.
The fire flickers on the hearth,
Chasing away the shadows,
That hover like black wings in the paths of memory.
He refuses to dwell upon the past, it is over and done,
Regret serves no purpose.
Warmth surrounds him, filling him
With a mysterious sense of calm
His eyelids droop and close,
As sleep steals up and snatches him
Into its gentle embrace.
And Severus Snape, spy and hero, knows peace at last.