Midnight Of The Soul Poem by Richard Weissman

Lord, It is the midnight of my soul,
Hour of deepest darkness,
Ever blinding,
Ever groping,
Seeking solidity in the mutable, nameless, faceless terror of doubt,
Seeking comfort - finding none.
Everywhere I turn,
All shiver in blackness of moonless fear.
It is the midnight of God's soul,
Faithlessness abounds,
Loneliness magnified by confusion,
Where shall I turn?
All huddle in darkened caves - whispering of want, of faithless plans,
It is the midnight of the soul,
They beg me to feed fires of existential terror,
How can I survive?
All are impoverished,
Everywhere is ruin,
"Renounce your vocation, " the faithless demand,
Abandon divinity's plan?
At least I would...
Survive?
At what cost?

This prison of doubt,
It is the midnight of the soul,
Holiest of hours,
Divinity's sacred time,
Lord, You invoked this ensnaring, deathless night,
I trust in your nature,
Even if I should suffer a million midnights,
Still would I keep to your plan,
Despite abandonment, torment and suffering unspeakable,
Still, I hold steadfast, loyal and kind.
I trust in the Lord,
None shall dissuade me,
I will not fear,
My path will not be sacrificed,
I will persevere in this quest to serve God,
Holy hour of unseen light,
Which tests faith, commitment and courage,
I will not fail,
I manifest peace - in the face of darkness,
Conjure hope - despite hopelessness,
Divorce - from warnings of naysayers.
Holy midnight of the soul,
With burning, purifying light unseen,
I fearlessly gaze midst your faithless heart,
And know my way is clear,
In stillness - I am victor,
In faith - light transcendent,
Invoking holy, impassioned, light divine,
Remaining true to this path,
Food, Shelter, Companionship - All offered up, All sacrificed,
Death being preferable to dissuasion from God's will - I choose light divine,
I'll not be vanquished by darkness,
Still, I will trust in the Lord.
Now, in the heart of my shivering weakness,
Now, I am restored,
Now I know boundless light immeasurable,
Embracing midnight with holy sacred zeal,
Mastering darkness with inner light of faith.
It is the holy hour of darkness,
Purifying, casting out all that is not light.
Now I am master over Midnight,
Victor, over hopelessness,
Shining brilliance of illumination,
Salvation, of the dark,
A tireless embodiment, of impassioned, sacred faith,
Now I am the morning Sun,
Burning out black night,
Thanks be unto God Almighty,
Strengthening, through midnight's light,
Now I know my character and fortitude,
Unfathomable tenacity, immutable courage, unshakable peace,
Now I am master over midnight,
Now, I am pure light.

- From "The Spoken Word" (1991)