The Joy in the Darkness – A Poem

I could hear her

before she became visible.

The song she was singing

stretched her voice out before her

so that it was the first thing

about her that I became aware of.

Notes of song rang out into

the cool air and, from where I was,

I could see them dancing with her breath,

as if celebrating being free.

A dog barked and she came into view,

her face bathed in the sun.

The dog walked in front of her

and would look back at her

as she sang, the notes pure and whole.

I was struck by how happy she looked,

as if the light of the sun that shone so brightly

was mirrored from within her.

Her song was part of the light

that she gave to the world.

I stood there watching her as she sang.

It seemed to be a private moment,

a woman with her dog and her voice

singing out in front of her.

I had never heard opera sung so beautifully.

In that moment, I closed my eyes for a second

and let her voice take me

on a journey that was filled with

such emotiosn that I could only

let them flow through me.

In her song, there was a torment of the spirit

but I could hear a hope

that shone as brightly as the sun upon my face.

As I stood there, I reflected

that this was what we were all going through,

trying to find the joy in the darkness.

I opened my eyes to see

that she had stopped walking.

She faced me, this woman with

a song for the heavens.

In that moment, I knew

that she was singing for me.

She stood across the street,

tears sliding from her eyes

yet a brightness on her face

as she sang. She saw me looking

and she bowed her head.

I understood then that this song,

her voice, it was my gift

because I was the only person

who could hear her song.

When she walked onward,

her dog walking joyfully ahead of her

despite the sadness that was contained

in her voice, she left something with me.

Inside of me,

there was a small seed of light.

If I closed my eyes,

I could hear her song within me.

It filled me with a sadness that had no name

and a joy that shone as brightly

as a flame in the dark.