the girl encounters darkness

Claire McNerney

the storm is passing over,

and with it silver linings —

it leaves behind a sky so dark

you could drown in it,

beyond a void, a maw, a live

and writhing darkness

hungrier than any ocean trench.

animals accustomed to the deepest

seas would feel blinded by this

unending night

and you are a creature of light,

fifteen and a half and you

thought you knew what it was like

to feel powerful

until you met the moonless night —

so much older and vaster and stronger,

and despite your youth you ache

in the small of your back and the roots of your hair,

with a desire to be

that, to be that, to be that

then comes in a cloud

breaking up the darkness

and your worshipful awe fades,

though you will forever feel this

deepest darkness inside you,

and you nurture it always