Where Even Darkness

by Leo Cirino

He went where even darkness would not go,

where there was no vision, but his stare gleamed

beyond the blackened sun, past the stars, into

a realm where moss and worm and soil began.

It could have been called storm or dream,

but there was no name to name the cruelty within.

He shrank small and smaller, learned the voices

of the forbidden, the innate designs

that formed and perfumed the intangible,

the material of matter that sang

and performed the miracle of beauty, evil.

Transformed and finally coherent,

he entertained the spiritual universals.

Called insane, he maintained his mind and soul.

The journey took its toll and

he was forever changed,

a man who knew why and because.