The Darkness (A Poem for Ibiene)

I have seen the edge of darkness,
I have teetered on its periphery

I know that it can swallow you
whole

I know that it can
bring you to your knees

I know that in the midst of it
you feel disenchanted and alone

I know that you find it hard to pray
As though there is no point uttering a word
because heaven will not hear you anyway

If you are in the darkness
know that you will make it out alive
that the fire will not burn you
and the water will not drown you
and the wolf will not consume you
and the lion will not devour you

He is silent sometimes
but He is not brute or vicious or forgetful
At a point, you will want to choose death over life
but choose life
Because even on the darkest night
and in the deepest valley
He is good