“The Luminous Dark” by Sara Letourneau
No one likes to talk about the darkness.
No one wants to stand on this precipice,
this isolated cliff, on an airless, new-moon night.
But at some point, you will end up here,
in this unwomblike cold, this constricting dread,
this silence where no frogs or crickets sing,
this maw with nighttime silhouettes
of pine trees for sharp teeth.
I cannot tell you how to leave this place.
But I have come to remind you to look up.
The stars can be seen so clearly, a bright splatter
against deep blue-black; galaxies arcing,
unspooling, silver cotton blooming;
the glimmer of an aurora, faint emerald
and ruby streaks.
This cosmos, this deep and beautiful
constancy, will not forsake you.
Let it console you, become your
new, trustworthy friend. It will never
blame you, or punish you,
or tell you you’re wrong.
No, it is here to ask you
to shine, to be brave enough
to take this midnight sky by the hand.
Once you do, you will breathe more easily,
and the drop will send your heart pounding,
invite your eyes to remain open.
And when it’s over, you will still be
whole and capable of glancing up
at the strange, oceanic rightness
that has never left you,
the marvel that renders the dark
luminous.
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Sara Letourneau Artist Statement:
My writing means the world to me. For a long time, I’ve felt that writing is the clearest, most authentic way for me to express myself, even more so than speaking. It asks me to be patient with myself and take time to process my emotions, thoughts, and experiences (both recent and further in the past) using the right word choices and imagery. It also gives me a way to not only write about topic I’m passionate about, but also connect with readers on a deep, heart-centered level.
Sara Letourneau is the author of Wild Gardens (Kelsay Books, 2024); a book editor and writing coach at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services; the cofounder and cohost of the Pour Me a Poem open mic in Mansfield, Massachusetts; and the co-editor of the Pour Me a Poem anthology. Her poetry has won the 2023 Beals Prize for Poetry and the Blue Institute’s 2020 Words on Water contest. Her latest work can be found in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, The Ekphrastic Review, Ibbetson Street, The Poetry Lighthouse, Silver Birch Press, The Somerville Times, and The Table Review.
