A place  we are called to wait
most  often feared and  run from, covered up and hidden
many spend  their whole lives  trying to avoid this,
the place  that  seekers  strive to find and dare to reside in,
the place  from whence the new self emerges
where fertility awaits, where hibernation occurs,
the place where yeast causes the  bread of our soul to rise
and from which spirit comes and a new  self is birthed.

When might I have ever seen this place as holy?
Never in my life before.
I saw it with dread and loathing,
with fear filled  loneliness.
Now I see  it more as a place I go to be alone,
to figure out my inner  world  and respect it.
It is not the cold and barren place I once thought it to be.
It is a place of power and protection.

When the holy darkness calls to me,
I must  heed it to go within.
I am nurtured and find some rest and solace there.
It is how I regroup and center
It is  all I know, it  is what  I crave in the uncentered  times
when life  shakes me upside down and right side up
until I cannot find my own peace of mind and  heart.

How valuable the holy darkness has  been for me
It is where I pause and reflect upon the good, the bad,
the ties that  bind, and upon the freedom that my soul so dearly  needs.
It lies lurking in the shadows,
voices whispering in the darkness of the night,
waiting for the silence to speak loud enough to be heard.

It is a place of power and of wonder
where destiny stalks me
where the mystery of the unknown awaits

I never plan to go there during the ordinary hours of my life
which at times tick by so slowly.
but these are the times I long for,
when the stillness creeps upon me
and I feel the oneness of it all.

Holy darkness, be my guide
be not my shadow, nor my stalking fears.
Honor my yearning to know you well
and my soul shall welcome you to its center
when you come into my life.