Farmers of Light

i bless this darkness

for without it

i would never do this work

i would be distracted continually

but in the dark

robbed of my sight

i must look inward

and while it is painful

i bless the wisdom

in me

that brought me here

i will try to be the best

student i can

of the night

for i sense

the quality of

myself here

is the quality that will come with me

as i walk through the rest of my days

and my willingness to really

roll up my sleeves

to do the hard work

will determine my experience here

in the long night of my soul

and will determine the length

 of my stay

and will determine

i think

even the length and quality

of my return to day

 so quiet...body

i know you are afraid

you crawl out of your skin

with the fear that

this darkness is here

forever

and quiet...mind

focus

on your mirror image

see the starlight within

and grow those points of light out

until the light swells across our internal

horizon

spilling outward

we are not in the business of

fighting darkness

we are farmers of light

so stay quiet...body

stay focused...mind

stare at the stars

quiet yourself

and know

i am alive in here

waking inside myself