When the lights go out in your house

and you can’t even find a candle…


When yellow gas seeps under the door frame

and through the vents…


Hold steady and call on the Brilliant One



That light is brighter than the darkness

that hides in every corner and nook—

that causes you to crack your shins on furniture

and sparks to life the tormentors

who burn your bedroom to the ground.


It is stronger than the toxic agent

which clouds every room,

sends you seeking through the fug,

and makes you cough and choke

on your own vanity and greed.


When you know of your brightness,

of your strength and resilience,

your house lights again,

and that yellow gas, you realize,

is harmless as a dust mote.