Walk Into the Darkness

A Poem

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

Sometimes I want to
walk into the darkness
and let it bathe me
in nightfall and charcoal
so I can cleanse the light
that made me so hopeful
when I really needed
more darkness to feel again

Walk into the darkness
alone and unencumbered
as an outcast soul
with dark eyes, a dark heart,
and a willingness
to lay your head down,
curl head to toe,
and sleep this version off

I don’t find it so scary anymore
to walk into the darkness
because the absence of light
is what allows me to see again
since everyone else is so overlit,
like a holiday Lite-Brite,
and I am the opposite
Just shades of dark gray

I am going to do it today
Walk into the darkness
and come out the other side
a new person, bathed by shadows
and honed by graphite hues
If only it would stay dark
outside of this moment