I have loved the night

I have loved the night. I have loved its shade
Of darkly colors: a true lovely sight.
I have walked in dark, and his have been made.
Forgetting the light, I have loved the night.

In the midnight hour, I reflected deep
On promises lost, and on love asleep.
The night outreached my will, all the world was ripe;
Unconscious, unwilling: I loved the night.

I have brought the world's hope to her altar
Libations of void, death-offerings rite.
I have thought despair overtook all wars;
Then darkness covered the earth. And the night,

Clear and radiant, bright, glorious, wrapped in light,
Gave me deeper hopes, and a baby's cry.

--
Yannick Imbert teaches theology in southern France at Faculté Jean Calvin. He is a Tolkien scholar and publishes books and articles at the intersection of theology and culture. He has also published online in Transpositions, Ekstasis, Macrina, Inklings Studies and other theological journals. He writes in French at delagracedansencrier.com.