The Abduction

But even now,
when I hold you in my arms,
I wonder where you are.
Sometimes I wake to hear
the engines of the night thrumming
outside the east bay window
on the lawn spreading to the rose garden.
You lie beside me in elegant repose,
a hint of transport hovering on your lips,
indifferent to the harsh green flares
that swivel through the room,
searchlights controlled by unseen hands.
Out there is a childhood country,
bleached faces peering in with coals for eyes.
Our lives are spinning out from world to world;
the shapes of things are shifting in the wind.
What do we know beyond the rapture and the dread?
— The Abduction, Stanley Kunitz

About the image:
In 1967 a horse named Snippy failed to return to her stable. Days later, Snippy's remains were found miles from the ranch. The neck and head were stripped of flesh, leaving nothing but bare, sun-bleached bone. This, and unexplained skylights, led townsfolk to believe Snippy’s death was caused by aliens.