The Darkness – a poem by Edward Alport

The Darkness

 
Darkness has never been my enemy.
Whatever the night could bring, the dark
Was solid, sure and safe. Four o’clock light
Is a deception, and four o’clock dusk
A temporary blip. We get it right,
The balance, only twice a year, if that.
 
These days, at nightfall, I welcome in the dark,
Wrap its sure and silent fabric round me, let it
Billow out behind me, my dark cape.
I stroke its velvet, finger its folds, take comfort
From its blanketing embrace. I feel no loss
When light fades its dimmer into twilight, and clicks off.
 
I have faith in darkness, in knowing that I don’t know
What I don’t know. What is there is all that light can show.

Edward Alport is a retired teacher and proud Essex Boy. He occupies his time as a poet, gardener and writer for children. He has had poetry, stories and articles published in a variety of webzines and magazines and BBC Radio. He sometimes posts snarky micropoems on Twitter as @cross_mouse.