Societal Commentaries

Author's Beginning Note:

I wrote this to help a friend know that the light although it may show things that he didn't want to see, that it can also show things that he should see. Yes, it is also a window into the depression that I have been dealing with for years. It gave me a great feeling to let the light in.

The Shadows Of My Mind

The shadowy tendrils are always reaching out,

Trying to entrap me in their clammy darkness.

I sit here in the dark corner of my mind,

Afraid to move, afraid to leave.

Light must never enter the shadows,

Or I might see what is hiding in the shadowy recesses of my mind.

As I sit here huddled in woe,

I wonder whatever happened to the days of light?

Those wonderful days before the shadows invaded my mind.

Those days that I revelled in the sunshine,

The days that I ambled through the meadows of wildflowers.

But now I am trapped by the enveloping clammy tendrils of the dark shadows.

My world and my mind are full of shadows,

They are all I know, and they are all I may ever know.

What is this?

A tendril of light trying to sneak into the prison of my mind?

Stop, I can't let this happen, I can't handle what the light may illuminate.

But wait, deep in the far corners of my mind,

A voice tries to speak, the shadows try to silence it,

Yet it keeps trying.

Let the light in it cries, let it show you the beauty hidden by the shadows.

Can there truly be beauty in the shadows,

Can the shadows hide beauty, as well as terror?

As I yearn to see the sunlight glistening off a bejewelled hummingbird's wings,

I sigh and open my inner eye, just a bit, and look around.

Yes, in a corner there is a glimpse of the smile of a child,

I open my inner eye a bit wider, and I will the tendril of light larger.

As I look around and the light increases, the shadows slowly begin to retreat,

They haven't left, just receded, they won't give in to the light just yet.

The tendril of light has now become a ray of sunshine,

In the corners of my mind, I now see roses blooming,

I see children laughing and playing,

I see eagles soaring majestically in the sky.

While I still see shadows, I now know that the light is my friend.

While the light stills shows, what I don't want to see,

That which scares and troubles me,

It can also show that which gladdens and warms me.

I will cherish the light,

I will let it show me my troubles in all their miasma,

Yet I will use the light to banish them as well,

The shadows of my mind can't defeat me,

as long as I believe in the power of the light.

Always remember the flight of the butterfly,

The jewelled glory of a hummingbird,

And the power of a child's smile.

Do this and the shadow will never control you again.

Let the light in and let it banish the shadows,

Remember shadows can hide beauty as well as terror.

Let the light in and see the beauty.

Live life in the light, and don't let shadows in.

Believe in the LIGHT!

*******

As stated in the Author's Beginning Note, I wrote this to help a friend, my friend was locked in the shadows of his mind and was afraid of the light because it made him remember things that he didn't want to remember. While the main intention in writing, it was solely to help him, it also helped me by opening a window into my own depression. I have been dealing with depression for several years now, and thanks to discovering the power of light, and the power of friends, I am not and will not be trapped in The Shadows OF My Mind! I would really like to know your thoughts and impression of this piece of prose please drop me an email at: The Story Lover