-- In the Sunless Hours --
By John Herlihy
Sitting in profound darkness
In in the dead of the night
In the sunless hours of day
Darkest before the dawn
Dawn itself about to break
The night’s darkness, oh so dark
The moon’s light, oh so weak
The moon’s presence, oh so strong
The stars in night space, oh so near
Twinkling in the firmament, oh so far
In the sunless hours
Of the soulful night
The black bowl overhead
The night ethereal, a dream
Stepping outside into another world
Ancient and foreboding
Complementing the eternal day
We gaze into the depths of night
Like a scholar examining a manuscript
Uncovering secrets in night’s hieroglyphs
The rhythm the day’s descent ominous
The rhythm of night’s return harmonious
The spiraling circle, the myth of return
In the sun-filled hours of the heartful day
In the sunless hours of the soulful night
- - - - - -
Copyright ©John Herlihy
Friday 22 September 2023
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It also made me think of the people who live north or south of the Arctic and Antarctic circles where during the winter there are periods with no sunlight at all. Easy to develop "cabin fever" if one does not have firelight, candlelight and something to do during the long, dark hours.
Finally, I thought of all the creatures who, as soon as the sun goes down, wake up from their daily sleep and began to live their lives entirely in the dark where they relish it over the burning, drying hot sun.
Ron