Keep reaching for the light.

When you are shattered and alone on this cold, bleak night
Listening to the demons in your head,
Don’t believe a word they’ve said.

Though shadows lurk around your heart
Prompting complex, cathartic art
Tighten your grip on the fragile thread
That connects you to that dwindling shred
Of hope—what might, and could still be
A ray of light to set you free.

Lying in a heap, on tear-stained sheets
Your lungs still breathe; your heart still beats.
Although you’re hoarse from all the sobs
And the demons persist in shrieking mobs,
Continue to scrape and clench and claw
Despite your tired heart, so raw.

Fight to keep a dim flame lit,
A light to guide you from the pit.
This fire must ignite in you,
Awakening the strength, that will pull you through
The hurtling tunnel of endless pain,
The weight of your sorrow—the heaviest chain.

Seek the light, however small
Move toward it—even if you must crawl,
Dragging yourself, against your will.
Despite the desire to curl up and lay still.

Within you, there is still a spark
That yearns to illuminate your dark.
Allow it to be a gentle guide
To lead you to the other side,
Away from the darkness; away from the sorrow
Toward the rising sun of a brand new tomorrow.

You can still reach that place; it is still in your sight
Just keep reaching toward the light.

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Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: Frode Inge Helland via WikiMedia Commons