Darkness

Doesn’t this time of year make you feel depressed?
We wake up in the dark and darkness descends again
when we are only half-way through the afternoon
Then we have to face the long hours through twilight
And the elongated hours of night

Perhaps we should be doing what other sensible creatures do –
Hibernate! But no, we humans must be always awake,
To switch off somehow demonstrates weakness
So we flounder about in the gloaming and the pitch black
Determined not to let the lack of light make any difference

I suppose there are some advantages of these dismal days
The imperative of cultivating the garden or allotment is
Lifted as the plants obey their preordained cycle of life
Similarly the trees cannot any add any further shade
Where shadows have little means of existence

Of course we humans do all we can to defy the dark
As we approach Christmas we create more artificial light
From huge town-centre displays where civic pride is demonstrated
In multi-coloured, electronically choreographed star bursts
To a humble domestic tree, with a few twinkling bulbs

Perhaps we should learn just to accept the darkness
As part of the natural rhythm of the year
And take the opportunity to disengage our minds
From constant stimulation, endless arousal
And simply BE, instead of always DO

Ken Fisher