Powerless

There’s a certain beauty

In being without the light.

No noise.

No televisions blaring.

None of the usual pastimes

that we suffocate the silence with.

We hear the crickets outside.

See the stars shining ever bright.

Enjoy a stillness in the air

Which we could never experience

When current

Surges through our homes,

Powering our digital lifestyles –

Hollow and superficial.

Oh yes,

There’s beauty in the darkness.

A serenity one can feel

Only when deprived.

Yet it’s far from the snatching

Of what we need to survive outwardly.

And, in truth,

The gifting of precious silence

Which we need within.

Complain not

About your lack of light outside.

For, if you search hard enough within the dark,

You’ll find illumination within:

An ever so faint flame,

Waiting to be fed

On the gift of silent introspection –

Coming more frequently,

Only when we disconnect from the world.

We find power within,

When there’s none outside.

So enjoy these hours,

And revel in the peaceful sojourn…

All made possible

By the shedding of our nation’s load.

Written in honour of tonight’s load shedding.