As the winter days get shorter and colder, and darkness seems to overtake the light, I am thankful for the Light of Christ to give me hope. I am thankful for the faithfulness of God. I am thankful that He brings the sun up each morning, even if it is behind a cloud or only for a short while. I am thankful for the promise of spring and summer to follow the long dark winter, seasons in their turn without fail.
Last night as I was getting ready to bed, the idea for a poem came into my mind. Rather than hope it would still be there in the morning (as I often do), I got out my prayer notebook and wrote down the opening line and then the rest came. This poem has a bit more structure than many of my poems, with alternating 4 and 5 iambs per line and a rhyme scheme. What, you might be asking, is an “iamb”? Well, it is a two-syllable foot in poetry, where a short syllable is followed by a long syllable. I’m not sure if I got the short and long part right, but I do know I ended up with alternating 8 and 10 syllable lines.
Anyway, I hope you like my ode to God’s promise of hope and light that stands firm even in the darkness.
Hope in the Darkness
Sun sinks below the horizon
Darkness envelopes all life in my view
Each night the darkness comes sooner
Each morning the sun arises anew
This season, winter, brings darkness
It seems to engulf the light of my soul
Sometimes the darkness is deeper
And blacker than the blackest mine of coal
But winter does not last forever
Spring and summer bring sun ever near
Hope of a Light everlasting
Is all that my darkened soul needs to hear
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5 (NIV).