Darkness, Emptiness, Loneliness…
Darkness…
Shadows overwhelm me
But darkness is as light to You
Shine in my obscurity
Darkness is only as it seems
“The dark night,” St. John of the Cross calls it
Murkiness fills my senses
Wisdom teaches all seems dark
When the Light is too great
For humanity to absorb
Emptiness…
Hollowness fills my heart
But emptiness is opportunity for You
Carve me from within
I am being emptied out
“Lady Poverty,” St. Clare calls it
Barrenness fills my being
Wisdom teaches that
Emptiness is necessary
To make way for fullness
Loneliness…
Loneliness is illusion
How to be alone
But not lonely?
I am cut off
The “long loneliness,” it’s been called
No material thing or person can gratify this longing in me
Wisdom teaches that
Loneliness makes way
For deeper connection
Darkness
Emptiness
Loneliness
Dreaded essential stop-overs
Along the path of contemplation