Wilderness Melody
Photo by Olena Bohovyk on Unsplash
A Poem by Mariana Mosli
Walking through the wilderness,
branches clawing at my garments,
the silence shattered by my wails in the abyss,
somehow feels like solace,
and I question if I can recall what comes after the night.
Sealing my eyes tightly,
tears thought to have evaporated long ago,
miraculously seep through,
warm liquid gliding down my frigid,
numbed visage,
an immediate reminder of the sanctuary light once bestowed.
Tears birthed from anguish now bring peace
to my weary bones.
Miles and miles of endless, unyielding nights
lie ahead.
In the wilderness, the nocturnal trees assume
an altered guise,
once providing shelter and comfort in
the radiance,
now they sway ominously, concealing perils
and withholding relief.
They, too, yearn for light and appear to have
relinquished hope,
until a nighttime critter ascends their boughs
in a delicate ballet of gentleness,
and for a fleeting moment, an immediate
a reminder of how the light feels overpowers the
night trees.
Night within, night all around.
In the wilderness, so much is forfeited.
First, I forget the resonance of laughter,
Then, I forget the countenance of my smile.
The light I cannot seem to unearth has also
vanished from my gaze.
But when I seal my eyes, it does not
grow darker,
an immediate reminder of how light once felt,
warm and consoling.
When I unseal my eyes once more,
the night trees appear to have unfurled as well.
Hues I scarcely recollect envelop me,
melding indigo with gentle pinks.
A form consumed by agony now gravitates
towards these novel shades.
Before I comprehend it, frigid air rushes past my form.
I am sprinting, the trees now behind me,
struck by the most resplendent light I have ever beheld.
Squinting, I collapse to the earth,
the petrichor, a welcome respite from the parched valley.
Uncontainable elation surges from the
depths of my being,
and I find myself dancing in the morning light,
to a melody only my soul recognizes.
I know the lyrics, even if the words that
escape my lips sound like gibberish.
Promises. Those words have always resided
in my forgetful heart.
I recognize this experience, for I have
witnessed innumerable breaking dawns in my
lifetime.
I realize that I cannot discover light in the wilderness; it discovers me.
Mariana Herrera Mosli, a celebrated photographer, has dedicated 15 years to capturing the rich cultural diversity of the world. As a Cuban-American writer and English as a Second Language speaker, she intertwines her passion for art, literature, and theology into her spiritual journey, crafting a vivid tapestry of life experiences. Her writing serves as a bridge between the secular and the sacred. Drawing from her battles with mental health and the complexities of motherhood, she writes for those on the fringes, the misunderstood, in the overlooked sphere where Jesus met her. She aspires to delve into the crossroads of affective science and theology, aiming to contribute to the fields through her personal experiences and future literary works, all for God’s glory.
