Some nights I can’t sleep;
I find myself lying awake in thought.
I see the glow of the street light,
the street light –
it is like the night light of a child,
& we are all children scared of the dark, the unknown, the unseen;
we no longer know the meaning of darkness.
I stare at the moon;
I stare at the stars,
or at least at what the stars once were;
I stare at ancient photographs –
the universe’s photo album.
I can barely see stars now;
they are drowned out by our lights –
our endless quest to eliminate the dark, the unknown, the unseen.
So I close my eyes
in an attempt to remember what darkness was like,
& it is on these nights that I feel more unsure of myself,
more afraid,
more doubtful,
more curious,
more mortal,
& so much more
human.
- Carlos Barragan
