Part the curtains briefly and look into 
The night, you are ready for the darkness,
The darkness that lies deeper than the dark
Where attention is all that is needed 
To face doubts and other familiar fears.
  
There is nothing out there in empty space 
That dismays us that isn’t already
In ourselves. But while we can delight in 
A sparrow rooting about among 
Dead leaves in a sunlit autumn garden
  
We transcend customary suffering, 
Because we still have the eyes of a child 
Full of wonder on viewing little things 
That lift us higher than the crowns of kings.