The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John Of The… | Poetry Foundation
The Dark Night of the Soul (St John Of the Cross)
On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings–oh, happy chance!–
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.
In darkness and secure,
By the secret ladder, disguised–oh, happy chance!–
In darkness and in concealment,
My house being now at rest.
In the happy night,
In secret, when none
The Dark Night of the Soul ( La noche oscura del alma ) is a phase of passive purification of the spirit in the mystical development, as described by the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross in his treatise Dark Night ( Noche Oscura ), a commentary on his poem with the same name. It follows after the second phase, the... See more