Echoes in the dark whisper to me,

gently calling me back to a time and place

that I sorely wish to forget,

but are indelibly etched into my memories

like carvings of a blade in the skin.

The soft and soothing siren song of those echoes

is now to me the dirge of a man who is no more,

the woeful wailings of a life swallowed by death.

These whispers are carried on the wind

like ghosts slowly fading

as they drift further away.

Try as I may, I know that I cannot forget my yesterdays,

but with acceptance I embrace what once was

as I walk boldly into what may be --

this newfound courage defiant in the face of fear.

 

The furrows of regret have cut deep into my brow,

and my heart is still so oft heavy with its sadness.

But in this mourning there comes comfort and healing

as the graveclothes begin to fall away.

Though I stand naked, I am no longer ashamed.

I am bathed in light

and that soot that once discolored my soul

is being washed away.

Now I can breathe!

Now I am lighter!

I am no longer weighed down by sickness and perversion.

My lungs no longer filled with ash and smoke.

 

I do not know where this road will lead me,

but away from where I once found my home.

And that is enough for me.

Tomorrow will worry for itself,

for today is all that I’m given.

And today I will walk this new road

with all its uncertainties.

Uncertainty in the light is by far greater

that any knowing in the dark.

So I will go on into this brighter future,

though I know not what may lie ahead,

my heart holding a recently discovered hope.

Through troubles I have come,

and into troubles I will certainly go,

but this I carry with me as a light before my feet

and a lamp unto my path.

I have been shaken, and will be shaken yet,

but still my feet are beneath me,

though uncertain at times.

They carry me down this strange and uncharted course.

With wonder will I keep my eyes on the horizon,

and with expectation in my heart will I carry on

into the unknown.