THE NIGHT
OF BLADES
AND STARS

Swift as a shadow, short as any dream
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,
And ere a man hath power to say, “Behold!”
The jaws of darkness do devour it up:
So quick bright things come to confusion.

—SHAKESPEARE,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream