Peace Poem by Daniel Brick

December 31,2018

Jessica sits very still
in a spot that will soon
be Night, crossed by shadows,
immersed in a silence far
far greater than her own.
She accepts this silence
because all that must be said
was already spoken by all of us
this morning and early afternoon.
Further speech would only cloud
those words of sufficient light,
now dimming, flickering, soon to
vanish, just as they should.

I can just barely see you
approach this still spot, and
sit beside Jessica. There is
a pause in Night's passage.
Jessica's right hand clasps
your left hand, and both of you
tighten the grip. It becomes
the gesture of prayer: you are locked
in a single appeal for grace...
The darkness widens, as more light withdraws
into the sleep all of us needs. How can we
say, "Darkness has fallen, " without also
saying, "Light has risen over us? "