Masters of Light

  • Author or artist: Spencer Guillot
  • Publication: Alchemy
  • Year: 2026
  • Author or artist: Spencer Guillot
  • Type: Poem

Before city, Before town, Before tribe,
       Fire,
A camouflage of perfect design
So demanding of attention
One hardly notices the flaws of ignited wood
    When light gently holds your eyes,
It is when liquidated, bottled, and produced
That such champions of flame as we
Should find a light in

Every city, Every house, Every street,
       Bulbs,
Like buds blooming into nighttime stars,
One hardly notices the dying moth
    When captured by its light
Who but we, could claim such mastery
As to grant a mundanity to flame
That its blooming prevalence should sprout in,

Every machine, Then appliance, Then pocket,
       LED,
Like a mating bird flashing its rainbow plumes,
One hardly notices its clipped wings
    When lost in its color
Scissors still clamped on its feathers,
Not even knowing its own lullaby should be
    Wounded,
    Shackled,
Cities making mockery of stars,
Sun sighing into a night still well lit,
One hardly notices the shadows
    When eaten by the light,
Starving ourselves of the dark,
Never once to see,

The flawed burning wood,
    The dying moths,
    The clipped wings
    Even shadow at our feet,

Who but we,
    Masters of light,
Could forget what the dark
Even looks like.

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