Villanelle

The silent messages of light, Remembered, chosen, cherished, may Fill all the shadows, all the night. Crimson and yellow, green and white, Blue and vermillion, morning-gray, The silent messages of light Cry joy, and shal be heard in spite Of anything that sound can say. Fill all the shadows, all the night With color till the black is bright, A veiled aurora, ray on ray -- The silent messages of light! And when, in fogs of pain and fight. The ghosts of grieving or decay Fill all the shadows, all the night -- I reach toward that perfect height That lifts and humbles me. Straightway The silent messages of Light Fill all the shadows, all the night.