Do not go gentle into that good night

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-Dylan Thomas

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I cursed the darkness

Because I thought 

Someone would hear my complaint 

And light a match.

I cursed, and railed,

And filled my sails

With the hot air of anger

And hatred for all that’s wrong in the world

But still I sat 

In the dark.

I sat

And cursed

And feared the worst

At every turn. 

Something loomed- there! just ahead

A lion in the street!

A game of shadows

An imagination untamed 

A future where God was not.

I cursed

Because words are stones and

I had a lot to throw

But after awhile

I realized the dark was still there.

 I threw so many stones

I had nothing left to build with

I could have built a lighthouse by now

But my energy was gone.

Throwing stones is hard work.

And I’m not one to shirk

Responsibility.

But perhaps I’ve been wrong

All this cursing the darkness

Hasn’t produced one pinprick of light

My sight is besieged by night, 

And I am consumed with it.

Perhaps I could light a match

Spark some joy

Experience delight

Look up and see the glory of God

In a sunrise, a sunset

A blue jay with a broken leg 

Who knows he will find food on our porch rail.

There is light to be seen

And carried

And cursing the dark is as helpful as

Toting a lamp with no oil

A flashlight with no batteries

A phone with no charge

It’s as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

And I’m sure that thought

Would give us all a laugh.

Moses asked to see God‘s glory

And God replied by

Causing all of his goodness to pass before Moses.

Seeing goodness revealed God‘s glory

This makes me wonder

If all the attention we’ve been giving 

to current events

Is worth it.

With all the evil that passes continually before us

I wonder

Whose glory is on display?

Perhaps we could listen

To mister Martin Luther King Jr.

Who once said,

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness

Only light can do that.”

We can add to the dark with our curses

And complaints

Looking for causes and explanations

Like treasure hunting at the dump

Or we could take some of our time and attention 

And do something about it. 

I’d like to think I’m the type 

Who looks around

At a cold and dark world

And makes it my business to light fires.

Perhaps you are that type too.

I hope so.