Hope in the Darkness – A Poem
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).
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A wonderful write, Linda. Very encouraging, uplifting, and beautifully written. Nice!
Life is about finding meaning and purpose and we all have our own ways of doing it. For some it is God and for some it is not – what matters is the path to Self.
Thanks for stopping by. For the Christian, the path is not one to Self but to God and away from self (and it’s selfishness). The apostle Paul wrote, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV). Peace, Linda
Thank you for the encouragement. And I thought I was ready for sleep.
So true that ‘winter’ does not last forever, whether one is thinking literally or figuratively. There is always light that follows.And a wonderful rebirth! I enjoyed your poem.
winter does not last forever, thank goodness you know…seasons remind us of truthes in life…the darkness never last, each day vanquished by the light….and the winter, she is short lived as well…there is hope…smiles…
yep…there’s hope and light in the darkness..and good to know that winter doesn’t last forever…smiles
This has me thinking of how sometimes people are affected by the lack of sunlight and have seasonal depression. I have a friend in Alaska and their days get really short in the winter. So thankful for His Light that we can have with us even when the darkness seems to last too long.
God bless you and light up your Christmas and winter with His hope!
Deb, This poem is actually scheduled to post at Broken Believers tomorrow, but with a different intro that mentions Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). And the short winter days in Alaska! Great minds think alike. It is wonderful that we have His Light to keep us strong in the darkness. Peace and Merry Christmas, Linda
Thanks for sharing, Linda.
I very much like! 🙂
December 21 is said to be the darkest day ( the day with the least sunlight) of the year. After that, the days start getting longer and longer, then Spring comes. I don’t like the short days, but I know that eventually light will come again and the darkness will give way.
There are dark days in my walk with Him. I hope I remember your inspiring poem on those days! So thankful that His Light is consistently there, even on days that seem dark, dreary and dismal.
Blessings,
ann
Ann, I am sorry to hear your walk is dark of late. You are in my prayers for His Light to shine in the darkness to see you through! Our God is faithful and I know He will give you the strength you lack on your own. 🙂 Peace and Merry Christmas, Linda
I was going to ask if we’d be seeing this at Broken Believers! 🙂 I love how God just keeps providing us with messages through you!