D. S. Martin

rather than light

~ after a Divine Epigram by Richard Crashaw ~

On soft feet     opossums & skunks

search in the moonlight

for a bite to eat     Our fenceline

becomes the racoons’ dark highway

as night shelters     both

predator & prey

When no approaching headlights shine

they skitter unseen     on our street

The only human forms that lurk

to risk     what skunk hour might present

pursue the deeds done in the dark

avoid where light     shines as it will

This world will love its darkness still

Endless light

If too close     you could miss

the luminous moon behind your neighbours’ tree

behind a chimney     or the brim of your hat

so step out from your dark cavity

clear of obstacles     & the immediacy

of seconds     step back to see

whole minutes     hours     millennia

Eternity is rising     like a ring of pure & endless light

& down at our feet     where our shadows fall

the second     minute     & hour hands     still spin

on every broken clock face

As it rises higher     & the shadows

of our years shrink     into formless puddles

on     & around our shoes

we might refocus     & see

it is we who move     Our world’s

hurled     driven by the spheres

& missed realities

are eclipsed     because of where we stand

all is calm    all is bright

We need help to step back

perhaps a light-year or so

so our panorama becomes broad

Look up     set aside all you think

you know     take off your hat

your shoes     for this is holy ground

Seek our unseen God

D. S. Martin is Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College, and Series Editor for the Poiema Poetry Series from Cascade Books. He has written five poetry collections including Angelicus (2021), Ampersand (2018), and Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis (2013). He and his wife live in Brampton, Ontario; they have two adult sons.