In Darkness, Luminous

Glosa, quoting from Seamus Heaney

Compose in darkness.

Expect aurora borealis

in the long foray

but no cascade of light.

—Seamus Heaney, North¹

When shade grows deep
beneath the cowl of dusk 
where all the afterthoughts
of day are revenant
insinuations or just tired
gray misapprehensions
of myopic memory—
hearken to the symphony
night’s lesser denizens
compose in darkness.

The song, this night, conveys
a light that shines unseen
until it reaches you,
revealing neither past nor future
but luminous like stained
glass windows deep within.
When you stepped outside
you thought to meet your shame
in shadow—why would you
expect aurora borealis

to embody in the pulsing
chant that swells more wild
than good and stronger
than the night? Can you hold
your doubt while this symphonic
inquest works throughout
the song-lit soul you thought 
was dark for good? Time
holds no importance
in the long foray

through memories you thought
were dreams. The cricket song,
the child beneath an open
window drawn from sleep
into the drowse of peace.
This is not the revelation
you imagined. You are bright
within, and yet in darkness—
like aurora’s cataract
but no cascade of light.

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Photo by Steve Gale on Unsplash

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This poem was generated by the author’s human mind. No AI chatbot was used.

1. Heaney’s full poem can be found here at the Poetry Foundation.