Eternal Light

Eternal Light is a setting of three poems by the composer's sister, Sue Susman: Eternal Light, An Old, Old, Woman and, The Peace Unseen.

1. Eternal Light

Heart in the darkness

holding on to the light inside.

Inside there is a spark, a light that burns

and never goes out, never grows dim but

burns hard and bright

in the dark void of unending night,

the vast empty blackness of my self

where I can only hear the echo of my cavernous soul and

the simple cadence of my healthy heart

hurting and healing over and over

pumping the life into my veins

pushing it through and around

so that I am always filled with it

so that I am always alive to the light

even when I am lost, cold and wandering

lonely in the dark.

2. An Old, Old Woman

An old, old woman

crackles like a gramophone disc,

the tune still audible, though the words are fading.

She smiles, with watery eyes

at unfamiliar faces,

family members, whose names she has forgotten.

The visits are so few.

Despite contented rocking,

the hideous clamor will not be calm.

It speaks with when she talks, describing memories.

The past will not die for her, but

continues to the present.

The grooves deepen with each turn,

the needle point grows dull,

but sound keeps coming forward.

She gives advice, the story unwinds.

Old friends, now dea, still talk to her sometimes.

She remembers back to a time before the circle broke and

she went pacing wearily

to catch the straying end.

3. The Peace Unseen

The sun rises like a lover

pulling the covers off the sleeping city

naked in her bed.

I seek the peace of dreams

like a shawl to wrap myself in.

A way out

a way in,

something better

something unseen

but always present,

like a shawl wrapped loose around my shoulders

to cover me as I walk on.

Because there is no protection.

The wind will burn and

the rain will cut

and the sun,

ever the jealous lover,

will chase his rivals and grow dark with rage.

Only the quiet voice,

the peace of dreams that lives within,

can cover me,

can sing to me,

the lullaby of life,

the peace unseen

but always there.

Copyright material from Sue Susman reprinted with kind permission.

© 2010 Sue Susman