bright darkness: harts' desire

"like as the hart desireth the water-brooks;
so longeth my soul after thee, o god."


on either side, dark walls of black pine;
below, night-black asphalt;
above, only the slight light of the seven stars.

in this dark, i walk,
my feet finding sometimes the path,
sometimes the road verge.

this is not the valley of the shadow of death,
but i do think of the people who walk in darkness.

one black pine wall flattens,
becomes a black grass field,
where flame forth black deer,
undulent as fire-tingues, running.

they, seven, perhaps sisters to match the pleides,
(perhaps seven dark flames of the spirit)
cross my path, invisible
but hoof-heard on the hard road.
in the black pine wall,
they stop and pant.

"o send out thy light and this truth, that they may lead me,
and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling."

i stop and hear, unseeing,
and turn to climb to the ridge-top, up.
the wall opens:
orion and faithful sirius
lead me to the tent.