“Realize that we were taught
to fear the dark.
Consider the seed that splits and unfurls
unseen within the Earth …
Consider the inside of the egg;
consider the place where
the Big Bang exploded …
Unknown and generative,
darkness is unpredictable:
limitless possibility.
We are in the habit
of learning to fear our potential,
but imagine embracing rest and dreams …
We learned early to believe in
the whiteness of certain magic and light
And blackness of certain arts and hearts;
confronted with the sky and its stars, I must reject this entire premise.
Remind me, siblings
to unlearn these bad habits
and accept the gifts I’ve been given.
Darkness is free and abundant;
There is joy in unfurling
from the shadows we were made in.
We need only close our eyes to go home.â€
In Darkness, All Things Are Possible, from Incantations for Rest by Atena O. Danner, Unitarian-Universalist minister
Closed Eyes by Odilon Redon, 1894