by Yvona Fast

Darkness seeps in:
slight, unnoticed shadows
of hate, injustice. strife
creep in. 
Slowly vision blurs and darkens.
The spirit dims. 
Darkness overshadows.

It storms in  
through screens that connect us. 
Death. Disease. Destruction. 
Wars and rumors of wars. 
Depths of inequality,
despair of pandemic disease,
disastrous effects of mistreating our Earth.
Chaotic, painful darkness invades. 

In the darkness, Light shines.
Sun beams down through trees to the forest floor.
Shadows yield new light.
Changing hate into love,
War into peace.

 Light brings awareness. 
Once we saw darkly – now we see clearly 
the evils of injustice, hate, destruction, disease. 

Dark times lead to new, life-giving light – 
the light of justice, of peace, of love. 

Now we seek out the Light,
embracing the power of love,
using our creativity and gifts 
to enable dim lights to grow brighter,
To shine love 
into cloudy days and sunny days,
dim days and radiant days.

In the deepest darkness 
light dawns. 
The light of God’s love
glistens, glitters, glows and grows.
Share the love.
Be the light. 


“If I asked darkness to cover me
And light to become night around me,
That darkness would not be dark to you,
Night would be as light as day.”
—Psalm 139

Yvona’s poems have been published in numerous magazines and several anthologies. She’s the author of 3 poetry chapbooks (Different, 2017 Foothills; Adirondack Blue Seasons, 2018 CWP); and Adirondack Seasons Haiku (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2020), 3 nonfiction books, and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. For more, see http://www.yvonafast.com/poetry