O deep unknown, guttering candle,/ beloved nugget lodged/ in the obscure heart's/ last recess,/ have mercy upon us.// We choose from the past, tearing morsels to feed/ pride or grievance./ We live in terror/ of what we know.// death, death, and the world's /death we imagine/ and cannot imagine,/ we who may be/ the first and the last witness.// We live in terror/ of what we do not know,/ in terror of not knowing,/ of the limitless, through which freefalling/ forever, our dread/ sinks and sinks,/ or/ of the violent closure of all.// Yet our hope lies/ in the unknown,/ in our unknowing.// O deep, remote unknown,/ O deep unknown,/ Have mercy upon us. (Denise Levertov)