Dark Rocky Shores
A poem on rejection, acceptance, and owning your path in life.
The stone was cast into the sea,
Waves rushed the shore.
There was no one here,
Desolate.
An empty wasteland of despair.
A voice from afar shouts,
You are not welcome here!
Begone!
Rejected.
No warm bed to sleep in tonight.
Seamen you were,
Sailing from place to place.
Never will you find your saving grace.
Wrecked.
You are stuck on this hostile plain.
The world will view you with hatred,
With malice and disdain.
You are an abomination.
Alone.
The beasts surround you.
Alas, a light you see beckons,
It shows you a safer way.
The lights dance around you,
Protected.
You are safe and will not go astray.
For the light counters the dark,
The dark must exist for a reason,
To test your will.
Powerful.
But you are a powerful force,
A ball of light that glistens in the dark,
For they may say they hate you,
But remember you are in the light,
They will always remain in the dark.
Authors note
Finding a place where you belong is complicated. There are moments when you feel accepted by people, but often you will feel rejected and alone. We experienced a combination of both those emotions which inspired this poem. No matter how hard things get, there is always a light at the end. Mental health is a journey and sometimes it’s hard to prevent others’ actions from impacting your wellbeing.
In the end, all that matters is that you rise up and take the high road. A person that disrespects you one day in your life doesn’t define your journey. You define your life. You choose the path you will take.
Tas is an autistic, queer, nonbinary, person of color that is a neurodivergent writer. They are advocates for social justice, and equality, and are scholars of life.
