The Fear

There was fear in all our hearts when the lights went out
Darkness fell and stayed with us for days weeks months
that we no longer knew if light would ever return to us
We adjusted to the absence of light as best we could
Many nights or at least I assumed were nights were rest
less I could only sleep in fits and bursts Uninterrupted
rest was something that felt as much a fading memory
as the Sun at high noon Heat too became rarer with the
passing of time Every day felt colder When the rains
began to fall it felt as though chilled liquid glass were
pelting the world What had we done to deserve a cold
world without light We became sicker more often and
crops began to wither and die Our people began to die
in greater numbers and we were no closer to knowing
the cause of this profound absence One day while in
the brief arms of rest I was startled awake by a young
boy who began running through the camp yelling for
everyone to look up Heads began to turn upward to
the towering darkness that had been lording over us
In the distant horizon light began to emerge piercing
through this night It grew more and more powerful
until at last the sky was filled by nothing but light