Noir

Flying over Dallas/Ft. Worth, I noticed the residential neighborhoods lit by their security and street lights, appearing almost as oases of light against the encroaching darkness. The lights appeared to be tiny, perfect circles of brightness and warmth, surrounded by the sinister blackness that pushed all the way to their borders. It was almost as if the light was the barrier keeping the darkness at bay. It appeared that if the light were to fail at any moment, the darkness would flow in, like barbarians breaching the gates of an ancient city. Once the protection of the wall had fallen, the inexorable force would swarm the city, destroying everything it touched. The walls of light appeared to be holding, each little security light a tiny barrier.

I can remember night lights as a child. The light pushed back the darkness, leaving a red-tinged warmth in its wake. But in every corner the light didn’t reach, I could feel an almost malevolent cold. Toys assumed nightmarish shapes in the shadow-light. Furniture that appeared harmless in the daylight took on sinister, jagged silhouettes in near darkness. The familiar, friendly world became something scary and cold. The sterile brilliance of a flashlight just illuminated the target area briefly. But when the clean light was switched off, the darkness returned, and the objects that I could only dimly perceived re-assumed their frightening identities. My family still remembers me avoiding the main living room at night, convinced the china hutch became a monster in the dark. And it did, at least to me.

I heard something on the radio today that described darkness as simply a shadow cast by something blocking the light. However, looking at the siege of darkness over the city, it didn’t seem there were any shadows cast. It was the complete absence of light that I was observing. Perhaps there isn’t a technical difference in describing the darkness. Maybe all darkness is simply a shadow cast. But it didn't seem that way to me. It wasn't blocked light that caused the creeping blackness. There was no light to be found.

There is a difference in the darkness that I perceive, and perhaps in the darkness that you perceive as well.