In Darkness, All Things Are Possible

Realize that we were taught

to fear the dark.

Consider the seed that splits and unfurls

unseen within the Earth . . .

Consider the inside of the egg;

consider the place where

the Big Bang exploded . . .

Unknown and generative,

darkness is unpredictable:

limitless possibility.

We are in the habit

of learning to fear our potential,

but imagine embracing rest and dreams . . .

We learned early to believe in

The whiteness of certain magic and light

And blackness of certain arts and hearts;

confronted with the sky and its stars, I must reject this

   entire premise.

Remind me, siblings

to unlearn these bad habits

and accept the gifts I’ve been given.

Darkness is free and abundant;

There is joy in unfurling

from the shadows we were made in.

We need only close our eyes to go home.

—- Atena O. Danner, Incantations for Rest: Poems, Meditations, & Other Magic (2022)

*****

Atena O. Danner is a poet, artist, and activist. She is a member of BLUU (Black lives of Unitarian Universalism) and has published poems in Shelter in This Place: Meditations on 2020 (2021), and Struggle, Elevate, Celebrate: An Anthology of Women’s Voices (2021). She is the Associate Director of Learning and Facilitation for Erikson Institute’s Policy and Leadership Department.  She has worked in Early Childhood, doing coaching, facilitation, and curriculum development.