Variation

The splendor of the shadows
Is the glory in the scene,
The blot that makes the brightness

Seem like something worth being
Seen as better than brilliance,
Which is never more than pain.

If there’s only a little light,
A table lamp, dim neon,
Moonlight, cloudy late twilight,

The shadows seem less welcome.
They’re still the calm that darkens
The waves, so that you can see,

By whatever instruments.
It’s not purely blinding sense.