It was night without stars or moon.
\nI could barely see.
\nI took a walk to escape myself,
\nto leave the world.
\nI sought a buried cave,
\nan onyx of pure darkness,
\nnot blindness,
\nbut the unblemished ink of innocence.
\nI was startled when a voice
\ncame from the shadows,
\na young voice full of caring.
\n\u201cCome see,\u201d it said,
\n\u201cCome see!\u201d<\/p>\n
And shaken I stopped
\nand looked to the place of the voice,
\nlike water empty of light,
\n\u201cCome see!\u201d it insisted.
\nCatching my breath
\nas if exhaling my soul, I asked,
\n\u201cWhat, where?\u201d
\n\u201cHere,\u201d it replied,
\nas if a step were enough,
\nas if following
\nneed only be a gesture,
\nand I followed the voice.<\/p>\n
I felt a hand take mine,
\nas if a petal brushed against my palm.
\n\u201cLook,\u201d it directed.
\nAnd I looked,
\nas the blackness parted,
\nand saw a child sleeping,
\nas if it were formed from light,
\na flower of ivory,
\nits face delicate,
\nforever open,
\nthe whisper of a smile,
\nperfectly composed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d I asked,
\nknowing I was dreaming,
\nknowing I was in a place
\nwhere in my nocturnal wandering,
\nI had never been,
\nnever seen.
\n\u201cIt is hope,\u201d said the voice.
\n\u201cYou have asked so often.
\nYou are being shown.
\nIt is hope, and it is real,\u201d
\nand the child became part of the night,
\nand the voice disappeared in the wind,
\nand I stood in the darkness,
\nweeping,
\npart of a dream,
\na gift received on Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was night without stars or moon. I could barely see. I took a walk to escape myself, to leave the world. I sought a…<\/p>\n