The peace and beauty of the night’s darkness
By Luis
Incarcerated people 
Prison Poetry 
Jul 29, 2019 
In the horrors of light,
Many suffer the painful rays that wish to jade the soul,
Piercing through the innermost parts of it,
Seeking to leave a hollow vessel within its eternal light,
Leaving a realm of light where one cannot rest
However,
When the soul realizes there is more than just the light that seeks to entrap it,
It finds a comforting darkness inside,
Restoring night and breaking the spell of a seemingly eternal daylight sky,
Restoring the stars into the sky that had been obstructed by the seemingly eternal light
In this realm of darkness and night,
The soul is able to breathe a sigh of relief,
As the seemingly eternal toil of day has seemed to wear upon its soul,
The darkness of night offers a peaceful and cooling embrace,
An embrace that allows the soul to release the burdens of day and find a soothing haven
The horror of the light is slowly replaced with the beauty of the darkness,
Offering a place for the soul to rest,
A place where the soul can finally find peaceful rest,
Under the dark starry night,
An embracing void beckoning the soul back home and restoring its inner faculties
Featured image by Erik Olsson.
Incarcerated people
Many incarcerated people from all over the United States correspond with Venerable Thubten Chodron and monastics from Sravasti Abbey. They offer great insights into how they are applying the Dharma and striving to be of benefit to themselves and others in even the most difficult of situations.
