Hammer of night

As the hammer of night fell
I went down the hill
Where the forest cleared
To see it touch the snow
Like a barrel

I strained to see the shape
It moaned but would not be seen
When the light was gone
I went to where it had struck
A pit of ice had sunken
Footholds smoothed from the walls

A hole aimed up
Like a black pupil
Too deep to see
With blue rippled walls
The air slid down

Where the hammer of night fell
I lit a fire
And felt the dusting snow

Beside me the flakes slid in
I fell asleep

By the pit of ice
Soon I was climbing steps in a garden
With the smell of wet mud
Toward a bull with no eyes