When Darkness Takes the View

From a distance, an image waits—
not entirely visible,
only the delicate outline of a landscape
resting beneath a veil of shadow.

From where I stand,
the colors have disappeared.

The greens have fallen silent.
The yellows no longer reach for the light.
The blues have withdrawn into the sky,
leaving the world painted
in quiet shades of gray.

The shadow seems to have taken
the brightness from the day,
yet somewhere beyond what I can see,
the sun remains in its place—
steady and unchanged,
even while hidden.

There are days when life within us dims this way.

The vibrant places grow quiet.
Fulfillment feels distant.
Meaning loses its familiar shape,
and the landscape of the soul
becomes difficult to recognize.

But perhaps, if we hold the image gently
within our imagination,
the colors will begin to remember us.

A trace of green rises from the earth.
Golden light gathers along the horizon.
Blue returns to the water,
and white slips softly
through an opening in the clouds.

When the world appears distant
and beyond our reach,
we can search for the colors
still living within us.

We can become the artist
of the unseen landscape—
drawing from the hidden garden,
painting with every shade
our spirit has carried through the dark.

For shadows are only visitors.
They move across the land,
they gather beneath the clouds,
and then, in their own time,
they pass.

So when the sky becomes heavy with gray,
look beyond what the eyes can see.

Remember the green growing within you.
Remember the blue of your deepest peace.
Remember the yellow warmth
that has not forgotten how to shine.

The sun has not disappeared.
The garden has not died.

The darkness has only taken the view.

And sometimes,
one gentle turning of the mind
is enough for the distant landscape
to begin finding its way
back into sight.