We sing of the darkness embraced by John,

The mystic called John of the Cross,

A darkness he entered with joyful hope

Despite all his pain and his loss.

This darkness which John described in his verse

Was space where God’s love reigns supreme.

There John felt a God-like tender embrace

Within his transforming dream.

 

We puzzle how darkness could be divine

For God is the One who is light;

Yet brightness emerged from the primal womb

Which birthed both the day and the night.

Like John’s inner path our journey can move

From light to unknowing’s fresh air

To draw each of us to mystery’s dark core

Where love conquers haunting fear.

 

In darkness we feel we are loved by God,

A presence beyond any face,

A realm which the pictures and words vacate

And stillness bestows its rich grace.

Sing praise for the dark whose pathway we walk

By light from our spirit’s bright fire.

O God of the dark in you we shall find

That love which our hearts desire.

 

Note: This hymn is based on the poem “On a dark night” by the famous 16^th century Spanish mystic St John of the Cross.          

Text and Music © William Livingstone Wallace.

Click here to see the score:  Wallace.We Sing Of The Darkness

Click here to hear the music: