Dark Night, Dark Fears

With the Mid Winter Solstice almost upon us as well as the dark of the Moon, I thought I would share the following poem written by Beth Clare Johnson.

DARK NIGHT, DARK FEARS

It was a dark night, and cold.
I found myself in a strange landscape
Light gray clouds floating in the sky,
Barely lit by the moon.

My feet were bare on the smooth earth
Earth darker than the sky,
Such a cold and lonely place to be.
A sense of anxiety and dread

Washed over me,
Although I did not know why;
The feeling of something chasing me,
Of evil beings amassed against me.

There was nowhere to hide!
All I could see was an empty shack
In the distance, wooden and abandoned.
Surely I was in a dream or vision,

But I could not wake up.
I saw the churning clouds of a dark army,
Sensing they had scary weapons
And were coming for me.

I reached my arms up to the sky,
Calling for help from the Higher Powers.
Down they came in front of me,
Hera, Athena, Freya, with shields and spear.

"Go hide, young mortal, we will guard,
Fighting any who would try to reach you;
Give us time to dissipate the darkness
So that only Light surrounds you."

Part of me wanted to fight alongside them,
But I obeyed what they asked of me
Knowing they knew best about battles,
And to trust was to honor them.

I waited in anxiety, in a corner of the shack
Hiding behind metal chairs and tables
Part afraid, part trusting...
Then I heard the crowd pass over me

And leave, taking darkness with them.
"It is safe to come out, young one,"
(Although I am not young in years).
I was enfolded by the goddesses

And wrapped around by the cloud
That they had come down on;
Their army of amazons and valkyries
Had left, no longer needed.

Not even a true battle had gone on
But perhaps the clashing of the energies
Would have been too strong
For this mortal shell to handle.

It's hard to give power over, even to a goddess.
I forget that I'm never truly alone,
All I have to do is ask for guidance
And They are with me.

How lovely it is to be a woman
When conscious of our special power!
For the Goddess is both within and without
And can banish fear with love.


© Copyright 1/10/2010
Beth Clare Johnson
(Mystic Amazon)