Out of Darkness, Light
We walk in darkness
Stumbling, feet slipping
Grasping for something, anything to keep from falling
We scrape our hands on broken branches
Our knees on stony paths
In trying to save ourselves, we are wounded
We wander in the murky black
Colliding, skin finds skin
For a moment, we are not alone
Together, we falter
Bones cracking into bones, heels crushing toes
In trying to save each other, we bruise, we bleed
Without light, shadows hide
Darkness beneath darkness
Sheets of black satin, sliding layer over layer in silence
Like crude oil,
It clings to our arms and legs, our faces, our hair
Slick, caustic, burning eyes and lungs
Retching, sick, lost, we keep falling
But we can’t tell how far, how fast
Until the light comes
And then we see
Though we can’t comprehend
The grey, the shapes emerging
Speak to us with a foreign tongue
We blink, our eyes adjusting
To rocks, cliffs, downed branches, the roots of trees
Things that made us stumble
We see the ones we tried to save
Who tried to save us
Caked in muck and mire, weak, weary
Eyes finding eyes for the first time
We stare long and hard into deep wordless wells
That both listen and speak
In them
We see ourselves
And weep
Our shame and sorrow
Cut deep, salty trenches through the filth on our faces
We are exposed
Naked in the light, we see the darkness
As it scurries into corners, under rocks
Seeking a place to hide
We think of hiding too
But light demands that
Shadows show themselves
And this light that keeps coming
Wraps us in gold, bright and warm
Glistening, sparkling, almost singing, calling out color and life
The dirt and grime dries, cracks, crumbles
In a pool of cool, clear water
Tender, raw skin is soothed
We sprawl across the grass
Drying damp bodies
Letting the light seep into, soak into our very bones
Illuminating the deepest parts, the smallest places
And all the spaces in between
The light colors us in
And we rise
Children of the Light
No longer afraid to move, to breathe, to be
In the dark
We knew only darkness
Now, even shadows prove the light
And we radiate, shining like stars
Throwing color like scattered diamonds
Swirls of glittering dust
Light shined into the blackest night, creating
Out of darkness
Light