One Last Thing This Year

For all the darkness in me,
I am a bright light, and that
Negative impulse a minority
Of me which I have taught myself
To laugh at and banish
Most of the time.

When it threatens to grow, I hold
My breath, and find that safe place
Inside me, the brightness which has
Always been there, but struggled to
Flare.

It is when the darkness outside is
At its greatest, when it calls me to protest,
That I am at my clearest, my lightest,
My most brilliant and dazzling,
Despite my tears at the
Man-made ills of the world.

I can and do smile when I remember
My ability to, and when I make time
To string together words that mean
Something to someone, to everyone.

This path was never going to be simple,
Nor straight, nor easy, and I will walk
It for as long and far as I can, as I
Seek to banish the darkness forever
Into the night where it belongs.

R 31/12/2025 18:09 Norwich