GALAXIES by BethAnne Kapansky Wright

I have found as the light wanes and winter solstice draws near that the darkness comes with its own gifts of light...

Alaska only receives about 5 1/2 hours of daylight by solstice time, and its rich, velvet, navy skies present a unique opportunity to connect with the beauty of night. December is a time of year where we are forced to work a little harder to find our joy and light beneath the waxing of the deepening dark and the waning of the sun. 

Galaxies is a reflection on the stars above, the offerings of winter's sky, and the transformation that happens when we learn to take the dark of night and find its gifts. The void is where dreams are formed and imagination gives births to new ideas and new creation. The stars are where we look to find hope amidst the dark. And the night is where our edges dissolve, and we are allowed to further dissolve the shapes and structures that hold us in place in the day and stretch out into a greater space of being, so we- just like the vast galaxies of star-struck skies- can continue to create, expand, and shine. 

This poem was inspired by a star lit evening of dreams, under an Alaskan, December sky. 

Galaxies

by  BethAnne Kapansky Wright

I could lose myself in the tilt

of crescent moon and not find

my way back 'til light of day.

Nighttime is meant for the wanderer.

Those who seek the hidden ways,

who find themselves tucked 

in each losing,

who learn to see the shape of invisible

where the form of naught

once lay.

I could crawl along the tips of skies,

until my knees were scraped with 

ragged sheen and 

calloused stars.

Nighttime is meant for the supplicant.

Those who know grace abounds

when a heart is meek, and a mind is

twined with merciful want:

Show me my place in the order of things.

I could sink into the abyss and count

myself whole among the flight

of shadows.

Nighttime is meant for the veritable.

Those who step into the space of dark

and find themselves

raw,bare,full- -

in the unformed fields of soul's eclipse.

I could stash the cosmos inside

so I gleamed with earnest glow,

to always remember

to transmute 

black into bright.

Nighttime is meant for the alchemist.

Those who learn the secret

is to take the elements Life has granted

and transform them into galaxies

Of ever giving light.

BethAnne Kapansky Wright: I am a Clinical Psychologist who enjoys writing, illustrating and creating. I specialize in dealing with women's issues, life transitions, trauma, grief work, and finding healing in our relationships, especially our relationship with our self. I am a big believer in authenticity, intuition, the power of love, finding laughter and joy, and learning to be more fully human. My essays and poetry have been published in a variety of publications, and I am the author of the poetry books Cranberry Dusk and Freebird Fridays (November 2016, Golden Dragonfly Press). I currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska with my soul mate and our fur kids and my beloved mountains and trails. I can be found on Facebook or on my blog: Sunshine in Winter, here. 

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~