Devotional Poetry

The Nature of Light and Darkness

1
The Nature of Light and Darkness

"...Since it is the nature of light to cast shadows, we can learn of it only by shielding our eyes. And since it is the nature of darkness to casting nothing, we should distinguish from the outset the difference between the darkness which denies and the shadow that depends...."

Bahiyyih Nakjavani

Retinas fused
through studying the unshielded sun
do not comprehend
the shadow's tones.

The rich deep ebonies
which indicate
the brightness of the light
are indistinguishable
in the darkness that denies.

2
Absence

Darkness is the absence of light,
Evil is the absence of good,
And death is the absence of life.

Darkness reveal the missing light,
because without light
Darkness is nonexistent.

The deepness of the darkness
corresponds with the brightness
Of the missing light.

3
The Phenomenon of Darkness

Love's test
is that darkness comes,
and that love and joy fade
into the soul freezing night.

The empty darkness terrifies,
and the naked soul is exposed:
horripilation.

Excruciating silence:
God's voice once clear and distinct
is a distant memory.

In this agonizing nothingness
the soul's exponential longing
is for God.

Poet's Note: ▼

The Nature of Light and Darkness was written 152 B.E. Inspired by reading an article or book by Bahiyyih Nakjavani. The other poems were written over several years period and inspired by various items about light and darkness.