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De Profondis

I glow therefore I grow.

Jean Peccoud

• 2 min read
De Profondis
Recorded on April 24, 2016, during NOAA’s Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, this jellyfish glowed at ~3,700 meters above Enigma Seamount — a small beacon in the deep (© NOAA 2016)

Context

I’ve been thinking a lot about darkness lately—about the long polar night I may one day enter if I choose to overwinter in the Arctic.

People imagine darkness as a threat, a void, a place to avoid. But there is no light without darkness. Day and night. Winter and Summer. Life and death.

We all experience darkness. We can close our eyes and pretend we don’t see it. Or we can scrutinize it.

The polar night brought back a text I wrote in 1991 while living in Vanuatu. I think it was a response to a letter from my mother wishing I was happier. I kept this text to myself until today. My mother can’t read it anymore; but I suspect this might have resonated with her if I had the courage to share it with her when she could.