The Darker the World Becomes
By
Jennifer Angelina Petro
Winter, I am here.
I should be sleeping, like
The bears and bees, and somewhere
The bats.
Yet, I am awake. And there is
Darkness, and there is cold, and there is
The silencing of snow, and yet,
I am here, awake, and as best I can,
A light, and as best I can—descending.
The earth has been compressed—
Seeds and all manner of growing things—
Are pressed deep into the cold ground.
I am still walking. And through
Winter’s necessary darkness, I move,
And as I do, striding with my little light,
The darkness spreads, parts, like curtains,
And with every step, the darkness gives way
Illumined and warming towards spring.
This isn’t to say darkness is wrong,
This isn’t to say I am savior or enlightened,
It simply means I am awake, it simply means
I have a job to do, it simply means
My soul is in the right place, it simply means
The darker the world becomes
The brighter I will be.