Inside hopelessness
darkness
Nothing more,
impossible to be less
silence, deafening
Only fears and despair
Echoing off cavern walls
I’ve been there,
lived there
Have you?
A hole so deep,
so cold
No one to hear the screams
Hopeless
Alone
Exhausted
longer the stay
deeper it becomes
The darkness becomes thick
Suffocating hopes
Choking out dreams
eyes scan the darkness
Searching for light
Searching for escape
Hopeless
Then
it happens
So small, almost missed
Like the tide as the moon rises
Darkness begins to retreat
What is it?
What is loosening the grip,
The stranglehold,
The suffocating power
Of darkness?
This tiny beam of light
Boring its way through the thick fog
Is hope
Like an ant,
Small and overlooked
Carries with strength ten times its size
You reach out to it
Desperate to escape
The ground slips underfoot
Fearful thoughts tug at ankles
Pulling deeper into the mud
A voice, far in the distance
“stand there
Stand on that rock”
Hesitantly
Cautiously
Obey
feet firmly planted
solid
standing tall
Faith, Steadies weak knees
Raises higher
Light brightens
The darkness becomes shadows
Still looking up
Longing for a rope
A ladder
A hand
To pull up and out
The voice calls again
“Walk”
Where? You ask
I am stuck here
In the hole
With the darkness
Eager to come back
To strangle
To suffocate
“Walk”
You hear again
Looking down
Toward the cavern wall
a place
Where shadows have retreated
Where hope’s rays have landed
“Walk”
You take a step
The rock of faith
Stretches out in front
Firm, supportive
With each step
Hopes shines brighter
The darkness, fringed
Looking back
It becomes clear
There was never a hole
Never a cavern
Never an inescapable abyss
It was only the darkness
A prison of its own
Lifting up hands
Small
Radiant
Beams of light from your fingers
“Shine”
You hear the voice say
“Shine”
With each step
Hope shines
Beams of light
Into the dark prisons
Scorching out darkness
Melting cold grips
Like the guard with the keys
Walking along an endless row off dark cells
whispering
“walk”
“walk”
And glancing behind
Small
Radiant
Beams of light
Shine in all directions
Soon
We shall all be free
Free of the despair
The silence
The loneliness
For when we each walk
Grounded on our faith
Bearing our light
We become hope for others
Hope that shines
Hope that encourages
Hope that brightens
So that one day
Perhaps, soon
The prison will be empty
The fear will be gone
And hope shines upon
All whom the darkness threatens
We
Are
The hope
Of our world.
-
- Photo by Carol Kreis
