Ode to Dark
As the background color of light rather
Than the spotlight of night, dark is
The infinite container of all matter in
The cosmos, where its invisibility offers
Warmth, tranquility and ultimate home
To every wondering soul, thicker than
Either, inclusive as the universe itself
Or the human mind, where no one
Has to worry about being disturbed
Denounced, or deprived of, where
Each body can rest in comfort, dream
About light, hope for the better, where
The seed is biding its time until it can
Bloom in the right season, where
Solitude accumulates power in silences
Yuan Changming edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver. Credits include 12 Pushcart nominations & 15 chapbooks, most recently Sinosaure (Redhawk Publications). Besides appearances in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry (2008-17), BestNewPoemsOnline, Poetry Daily and nearly 2,000 other literary outlets worldwide, Yuan served on the poetry jury for Canada's 2021 National Magazine Awards and began writing and publishing fiction in 2022.