Mother Night is the Eve of the Winter Solstice. It is also a novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., which was made into a movie in 1996 and a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938.)
Eternities before the first-born day, Or ere the first sun fledged his wings of flame, Calm Night, the everlasting and the same, A brooding mother over chaos lay. And whirling suns shall blaze and then decay, Shall run their fiery courses and then claim The haven of the darkness whence they came; Back to Nirvanic peace shall grope their way. So when my feeble sun of life burns out, And sounded is the hour for my long sleep, I shall, full weary of the feverish light, Welcome the darkness without fear or doubt, And heavy-lidded, I shall softly creep Into the quiet bosom of the Night.
This poem was made available by the Academy of American Poets.
