Moroccan Lanterns - the Hall of the Moroccan Lanterns

Your lover leaves too soon, walking away from the intimacy of your Mediterranean parlor and into the hall of Moroccan lanterns. The thrill is not gone, however, and the night is still young.

Slowly, without thinking, you follow into the corridor where you have wandered alone a thousand times before. But it has never looked quite like this. The hallway extends infinitely in both directions, lit only by the lanterns which glow quietly, brilliantly, to either side. Candles flutter shyly from behind countless lenses of stained glass, projecting delicate windows of red, turquoise, and gold onto the arched ceiling, across the tiled floor. The complex pastels of everyday life are reduced to their purest essences. Geometry. Light. Primary color.

With the passing of every lantern, you notice that each is unique, fashioned by human hands, one by one by one. Their existence seems impossible in the modern world. They are too uneconomical, too unique, too beautiful. You have always been led to believe that quantity beats quality, conformity is a virtue, and that routine is something to be achieved. But you were only deceived by the frosty hues of fluorescent lamps which were constructed by machines for machines. Now you shrug off that illusion. All the petty arguments, all the hidden resentments, all the unsolvable problems which have burdened your mind have vanished. You suddenly understand that life should be no more complicating than the still glow of a Moroccan lantern.

Then you are reminded of feelings so distant that you can not even be sure if they are from this lifetime. Simplicity. Romance. Adventure. Within each wrought-iron curve of the henna lamps, artisans have encoded epic poems of survival and triumph. Like Morocco itself, the lamps represent the sum of diverse cultures and religions-- European, Christian, African, Muslim-- each distinct yet absolutely integral to the design of the lanterns. They capture the souls of their creators, only to release them again in a kaleidoscopic display of color and light. This one, crafted by a Berber artist in Marrakesh, based on a design made popular by an Arab from Casablanca. These are no ordinary lamps, but the distillation of centuries of human experience.

You continue walking forward. Your lover is still a few paces ahead of you, unaware of your footsteps; indeed you are not even touching the floor. And the Moroccan lanterns light the way in captivating stillness and honesty.

Without fear, without hesitation, you reach out and touch a shoulder. The shoulder turns toward you. Delicate windows of red, turquoise, and gold dance across your lover's face. Through the colorful windows you glimpse a peaceful spirit, devoid of malice or duplicity. Looking down, you notice that the light has cast its spell on you as well, and you wonder which of your secrets the Moroccan lanterns have unmasked. But if there was ever a side that you kept hidden from the world, it no longer exists. You both find yourselves surrounded by an innocence that you thought was lost forever. Everything has changed, and you have fallen in love again. It is mystifying that light alone could cause this kind of transformation.

Around you, the lumieres bear silent witness to this moment. Your own story has been captured on stained glass. It will be told again and again in the enigmatic glow of the Moroccan lanterns.