Looking out onto Space

Looking out onto Space

An unfathomable distance
So conceived

The absolute darkness,
The blindness seen

Alone with a candle
Piercing darkness with light

The boundless chasm
Without reply,

Accepting the glow
In unwanting quiet—

Looking down at my hands
In flickering hues

The truth of the flame,
Its mark it made.

The warmth was felt
By source so near

And eyes rejoiced
At sights so clear.

Still deeper yet
The gratitude lay

The darkness speaking
Not to the ears

But in silent being
Its language conveyed.

Received by same (inside myself)
The pervasive noir—

The inexhaustible field
Of unyielding birth

Without time nor object
Without distance nor wait—

Behold the unfathomable
Bounty of blackness,

Our humble flame,
Without which

Could not live,
Nor so the day

Be born anew
In endless cycles

Of life renewed.

MS21