En Una Noche Obscura, by St. John of the Cross (religious poetry, 1577-1579)

[lb_lee]

"On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings
--oh, happy chance!--
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest."

Blurb: A mystical Catholic poem about meeting God in ecstatic, holy, erotic darkness. Also known under the titles "On a Dark Night" or "Dark Night of the Soul."

Why is it worth your time?: It is the source of the term "dark night of the soul," and it is also the gayest, horniest-for-Jesus poem I have ever seen, making it well-loved by queer men. St. John of the Cross was apparently buddies with St. Teresa of Avila, which explains a lot. It is a beautiful, loving poem about being guided by inner sight to a lover nobody (including the seeker) can see, and it's not at all hard to monkeywrench it for plural purposes.

Plural Tags: nonhumans [God], creator speaks from experience, abuse not mentioned, romantic relationships, spiritual

Content Warnings: Uh. Jesus bangery?

Access Notes: Public domain; you can read it on Wikipedia both in English and the original Spanish.

Misc Notes: Apparently St. John of the Cross had to be gently nudged to explain his theology, leading to him writing two books of commentary on this poem. I tried to read one. It was a slog.