The Darkness

 

Sunday night at 6:55 pm the train brought tourists back from Silverton CO.

Creating a time measurement, when the sun first hits the top of the smokestack at the old Power House (now museum)

Sun first hit the smokestack at 7:39 on Sept 19.

Sun on smokestack at 7:41 on Sept. 20.

on Equinox...at 7:43 am mountain time. I wonder how late the Solstice time will be...

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The Darkness

From my friend Annelinde Metzner, poet, musician, feminist:

"As a composer and poet, I’m interested in cultural perceptions and assumptions that influence beliefs.  In monotheistic religions as well in some types of more recent spiritual thought, the assumption has been to equate Darkness with evil and Light with good. “Love and light!” we hear often, or maybe “I’m surrounding you in light.”  But this assumption feeds a form of prejudice that infuses all of society. The mind hears “darkness” and associates it negatively with Earth, female, skin color, dirt.

But the world is created in Darkness. The Goddess regenerates all life in darkness.  Humans gestate in the darkness of the womb. Darkness gives us the liminal time to imagine the new, to envision new paths. We experience this in winter, and every night in sleep.

Leading services at our Unitarian church, I’ve wanted to create an opening for this consciousness and so I created this poem. It works well as a responsive reading, with the congregation repeating “the Darkness.”  My hope is to jog awareness of the far-reaching ramifications of prejudice against Darkness.

 The Darkness, by Annelinde Metzner as published in "Feminism and Religion."

I've underlined the responsive words which the congregation was invited to say out loud, while this poem was shared several times in the Black Mountain NC Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

The Darkness                                  

Coming together here, we warm each other’s hearts in the darkness. 

The Sun, far away, yearns to embrace us in Her warmth once again. 

But this is our time to journey into the depths of the darkness. 

This is the time to surrender and listen deep to our souls. 

This is the time to close our eyes, slow down and be lulled by the darkness. 

Our blessed Mother Gaia dwells within the darkness. 

Inhale the song of Her soul, Her soil, Her dark caves, Her rich dark humus. 

Mother Earth welcomes you into the darkness. 

Walk with confidence, all people, walk safely into the darkness. 

Let us love the night, the moon, the stars, the planets, the Seven Sisters high above. 

Revel in this other half of our lives, the darkness. 

The beauty of the dark earth, the darkness of skin, the dark curves of mountain roads,  

The Seven Sister Mountains in their powerful darkness, presiding over Black Mountain, 

Our dark blood, our Earth, our deepest selves, the darkness. 

Annelinde Metzner 

November 16, 2010

BIO: Annelinde Metzner honors the Divine Feminine with her poetry and music. She has composed many praise songs included in her songbook, “Lady of Ten Thousand Names,” and has created and produced concerts for the Goddess including most recently, “Feminine Faces of God.” She directs the choir at the UUCSV in Black Mountain, NC, and founded the women’s choirs Womansong and Sahara Peace Choir in Asheville NC.  http://annelindesworld.blogspot.com  

(Note: I took that photo of Linda. I also was happy to sing in the Sahara Peace Choir for several years, as well as attend special events where the public could sing some of Annelinde's compositions in honor of the Divine Feminine.)

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Thanks Linda, for permission to share your words here, the day of Gaia's turning toward darkness which leads to the Winter Solstice.

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More pottery from the Durango Autumn Arts Festival:

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Fitness is a journey, not just a destination. The beauty lies in the experiences we gain along the way.