edge of darkness

The edge of darkness,

impossibly black

Was defined entirely

By the light it contained

Just as the brightness

Impossibly white

Was edged completely

By that blackness.

Not one without the other,

A movie screen in a theater

Before the show began.

And I wondered,

If I could get closer,

If the black bled into light

And the light seeped into black

The edge, the border, less defined

The ruler’s edge a little fuzzy

Grey appearing on that line.

And I wondered

If it mattered If I approached the edge

From the darkness

Or the border

From the brightness

To find grey.

How close dared I come

To see all was not

Only black or white.

Or if it was safer, simpler

To keep a distance

Where all was clear

No room for doubt

The edge, border,

Clearly defined

In, out, open, shut, right, wrong.

No room for compromise.

And I wondered at the vanity

That would so sharply define God’s love.