19 September 2003

Candles Of The Gods (The Beauty Of Darkness)

Candles of the Gods
(The Beauty of Darkness)

The day has been long
But at last comes the hour
The sun finally rests her weary head
As the sphere of flame
Descends beyond sight
She illumines the sky, turned ablaze
The clouds glow red
And yellow, and bright
And the sea shimmers, flickering, vibrant
Then slowly they fade
The colours, the flames
And the sun surrenders to the night.

Star light, star bright
Shine so brightly in the night
Star child rise, join your kin
Take your place above us

Night’s tapestry weaves the sky
Blanket of darkness, pierced by you
Children of the star, shining far
Your light reaches us, and paints
Your family portraits; Orion, Aquarius
So many more to see and know
Astrological family trees
Telling stories of time long passed

And ruling you all in the kingdom of night
Mother Moon reflects on us all
Lighting the dark lands far below
Guiding life to wherever it must go
Majestic, sombre, glowing white
Dominating the sky so black.

Clouds come, come to shroud
Come to take night lights away
Cold, remorseless, without pity
Armies of the rain charge on
Nothing can she do but wait
Endure the cruel obfuscation
Yet still, she persists, still she duels
And her luminance bursts through the blockade.
Night’s rain falls, but she reigns high
Never falters, never leaves her throne
Now when there is much work to be done
The night must have its majestic queen.

Star child rise, star child shine
Star child sit with your nocturnal kin
In the service of your monarch great
You have excelled, and lit the furthest lands
As candles of the gods.

For many years, beyond man’s reckoning
Perhaps beyond memory of Father Time
Your kin, your race, have traversed the sky
Endured, survived, burned bright above

But your light is far, so far away
The clouds can hide your distant flare
A battle lost, a moment of darkness
Not knowing when you’ll shine again

But soon they pass, the ominous vapours
And so your light, restored again
Burns bright and true, and right through
The blackness of the night.

But Mother Moon and Mother Sun
Constantly will they plot and scheme
To usurp, to conquer the other’s realm
Their bickering ways shadow us all
The fire is stronger, often she wins
While Mother Moon can only watch
As her light is dulled by the queen of day
Eclipsed by her solar greatness

But just sometimes, the moon triumphs
And fights back her oppressive sister
To shroud her from the world below
And steal a moment of a dark day

The night has been long
But at last comes the hour
The moon must rest her weary head
The sphere of stone
Descends beyond sight
And the sun will return to the throne