Night Song Poem by Nadeem Ishaque

Bless this poem
Give it form
Let the words flow
From my tongue.
O Nyx, dark goddess of the night,
In you I pledge my faith.

Give me wisdom
Give me insight
Give me the will to question
Certainties of feeble minds.
I am weary of platitudes,
Blind dogmas that divide;
Judgement before understanding
Dichotomies of wrong and right.

I've read all the books
I've watched the eagle's flight
Tracked rise of the dove
Witnessed the falcon's dive
Stood by the abyss of soul
Stared at the emptiness inside
Burned in the flame of love
And seen it turn to ice.

O goddess of the unknowable night
Engulf me in your darkness tonight
Open my reason to your ambiguity
I've come for knowledge of eternity.

You mother of Eros
You lovers' pride
From you sprang the universe
Cycles of day and night
You kept Zeus at bay
Curbed his wanton desire.
Teach me how to love
That she feels deep inside
That nourishes her soul
And is her body's delight.

Let me hold her close
Let my fingers trace
The scars of her love
Every line on her face
Let me drown in her love
Submerge in her grace
Taste wine from her lips
In love's deep embrace.

Time, the bearer of my grief,
Madly runs at a blinding speed
Balanced at the edge of the precipice
I know that my stay here is brief.
You edifice of knowledge
This apostate's shrine
You dark ocean of love
This sinner's retreat
You mother of creation
Dark goddess of the night
Give me another night I plead
Just one more embrace I seek
One more book to read
One last yarn to weave
One more night of thirst
One last chance to love
Before I have to go
Before I turn to dust.