Before the Beginning.
Before the Word.
Before God Spoke.
There was Darkness.

For all we know, God knew
peripheral shadow world,
the Void, contemplation
of consequences God knew,

hesitating the longest
for all we know, would know:
Cast out to the wilderness
of city streets, birthing trauma,

sowing and reaping
daily bread, sweat
of brow, what passes
for human compassion.

Children swept away
through that closing door
of memory, wrenching
parents awake.

Wives who defy the odds of
outdistancing husbands.
Husbands whose limbs twist
into nightmare fetal transitions.

Parents whose minds slip askance.
Loved ones choosing to be no more.
Rented hospital beds rolled away.
Clothing folded, boxed and taped.

And for some, a shepherd dog
who lies down at the feet
of his human charge,
resigns his duties.

The survivors gather
in the sanctuary, longest night
of the year, to touch a shoulder,
enfold a hand in hands,

even risk a hug, or lay
fingers a moment
on a cheek, all manners
of shared grief,

each kind of assurance that,
come morning, and it will,
God will let there be light . . .

*In gratitude for First Baptist Church, Abilene, Texas, offering “The Longest Night: A Service of Grief and Hope.” Especially during this Christmas season.

Selected Biblical Sources:
Genesis 1: 1 KJV
John 1: 1-3 KJV
Genesis 1: 3 KJV