{"id":150595546,"date":"2024-10-23T13:02:29","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=150595546"},"modified":"2024-10-23T13:02:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:02:29","slug":"the-illuminating-spark-a-return-to-darkness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=150595546","title":{"rendered":"The Illuminating Spark: A Return to Darkness"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A seasonal poem related to the approach of Samhain.<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ea05a0a4-2e81-488b-9589-142bfb4b9b4b_5184x3456.jpeg\"\/><\/figure><p>(Image descritpion: A photo of a mostly dark sky with receding sunlight. Numerous stars shine overhead, while wispy clouds hang over the silhouetted trees.) Credit: Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@noahsilliman?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Noah Silliman<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/clear-sky-with-stars-podD6kKHRl8?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Return to Darkness<\/h3><p>In the shortening of days,<\/p><p>I feel the call,<\/p><p>a call of darkness,<\/p><p>a beacon of stillness,<\/p><p>that my heart aches for.<\/p><p>In the heart-longing,<\/p><p>balance is needed,<\/p><p>where things might be mended.<\/p><p>A strengthening of ways<\/p><p>can render a murky path<\/p><p>into a trusted and well-tread one.<\/p><p>With each beat of my heart,<\/p><p>I yearn for yarns<\/p><p>of ancestors, near to my pulse.<\/p><p>I miss the blessed tales that<\/p><p>made my young heart sing.<\/p><p>The darkness ripples with its call,<\/p><p>asking me to seek these gifts again.<\/p><p>Even with uncertain times<\/p><p>and no clear direction,<\/p><p>I must heed the call.<\/p><p>These yearnings aim to<\/p><p>heal, like a steady boat on the sea,<\/p><p>and to bring me home.<\/p><p>In the darkening of days,<\/p><p>may my heart be anchored<\/p><p>in the bay of healing and story.<\/p><p>Let my ties to the stories be strengthened,<\/p><p>so that the path may be steadied.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A seasonal poem related to the approach of Samhain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150595546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150595546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=150595546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150595546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=150595546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=150595546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=150595546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}