A Denizen* Of Darkness Poem by Daniel Brick

Minutes dissolve into hours, hours dissolve
into twilight, and I am barely conscious of
having crossed the threshold of Night. It is
simply a homecoming to my truest self. It is
my natural condition. I stir myself, my mind
detaches itself from humdrum concentration.
It will be guided tonight by my soul's vision
and open wide its chambers of thought
to the wonders of the Night.

I must prepare myself to participate fully
in the Nocturnal Music, all of us composers and
listeners in the same unrepeatable moments.
We will share flights of fantasy, and mountains
will bend down and catapult us to different regions.
I will dance between stars on the thin ropes of poetry,
and dedicate an impromptu epic poem to the Angel
of the Night. I will soar into the dome of the sky
with Gabriel's borrowed wings and pronounce annunciations
to all of Mother Mary's eager female devotees and
summon all brave male warriors to complete the "jihad"
of the soul...

I will return to the precincts of earth imbued
with stellar knowledge. I will lean against trees and
feel their sap fill my veins with green energy. Rocks
I sprawl over will fill me with mineral strength. My eyes
will applaud two moons: one floating amid clouds,
the other coasting over the waters. The rain promises to
refresh me and the winds are serious about my comfort.
When I walk forth, I carry the Immanence throughout
my being and I stretch out my arms to embrace
the Transcendence almost within reach. Near me owls swirl
in a protective circle, and impart their language to me.
Just barely visible high above, a lone night hawk calls
my name. My nocturnal landscape is an enormous happiness.

*DENIZEN: an inhabitant; resident; a being, animal or plant,
adapted to a new place or condition