Anything
Everything
You can get through it

I am the light
Come,
find me

Darkness surrounds
Your mind
Buried
Deep
Under the earth's soil

Shadows exposed across the walls
A man with an axe
A guillotine
A dark angel broken in half

Come find me

Ebony skies
Charcoal clouds above
No stars in sight
It's a moonless night(mare)
You can't see where the path leads

Come to me

Fear of falling pulls you back
You can't move
Frozen in place
Terrified

When you fear me,
The light
You will never see

When you fight through your fear
The black will begin to fade

Opening your eyes
You see it
your true self

Dark as can be
Clever
And callous
Full of nothing but malice

Or...

Frightened
Yet caring
Empathetic
And strong?

A tiny step forward
Your journey begins
Slowly but surely
You're finding your light

Within

Body of a long night in the suns,
Existence as we know it.
Ocean of absence & matter,
Of gas & solid
In equal coexistence
Within these systems upon systems.

Time & motion,
The yin & yang.
The delicate balance
They maintain
Allows for each to live.

Without one,
The other ceases to exist.

Without motion,
Velocity & acceleration,
There would be nowhere
For which time to go.

Without time,
Duration & interval,
There would be nothing
For motion to travel.

In this life, I have had my struggles—
Mankind’s abuse, intolerance, wars, and corruption.
And no different were the personal aspects:
love, home, happiness—
All fleeting, no peace, within or external.

Then, I found you.

At first, I sought tranquility—
An ear to bend, a friendship perhaps.
Yet, you needed serenity, a peace within.
So, it was I who lent the ear, the shoulder, the words of understanding.

In this endeavor, I saw in you a trampled blossom—
Damaged, bent, a bit broken, but not a loss.
You just needed someone, anyone, to care,
To show you the light through the dark.

So, I listened, I nurtured,
Shown light, provided warmth,
Fed you, and caressed the soil with tears,
Until you felt whole again.

To be clear, I didn’t fix you;
I didn’t mold you.
You were whole, you were full of worth.
I only let you see what I see in you.

In turn, you saw me, as I saw you—
Someone discarded on the refuse of life.
Imparted, nay, reciprocated, the kindness you had received,
Knowing that I, like you, lay scarred and injured, but not a loss.

Tranquility and Serenity—
Words often interchanged,
But both have meanings that aren’t quite the same.
For one is peace in your surroundings, and the other is peace from within.

You cannot seek one
Without discovering and embracing the other.
Two sides of the same coin, like Yin and Yang,
Always seeking balance.

You guided me,
Lighting my way through the darkest moments.
I held steadfast, unwavering—the rock you needed,
A new foundation to build upon.

I confess this truth to you,
As you have given both, reciprocal,
As I have given unto you.

Time will tell.
This story has not ended.
It is still being written—
A journey to destinations unknown.

And all because,
I FOUND YOU.

I wish I could write about balance
Yet it seems much is lost with me
Like the philosophy that used to define
Or the friends who used to get high
Yes, it seems I have aged for the worse
Becoming the very thing I fought against
The usual nine to five employee
Whose life revolves around a clock
Desperately waiting for the ringing bell
So that I might go home just to start over

"Can you help me with my homework?"

I'm a father now and having a purpose
Helps to cleanse the monotony
Yet, there is always that lingering thought
Who am I
Is this balance?
Or is balance lost?
The uncertainty is maddening as I return to the present
"Life is the geometric progression of experience"
It slips out and they want and explanation
"Please, Dad!"
I internalize my struggle
As I struggle to reconnect with my former philosopher
So I draw two dots for them
One is me now and one is me then
"Boys, this dot here is who your father was"
"This other dot is who he's become"
"Perhaps the value of the latter is less than its former"
"Maybe mathematics got it wrong and real value doesn't have a power"
"Or ratio to determine greatness"
"What if the father you know now is less than the man he was"
"Like that negative sign I find myself subtracting"
"Removing years and tears and time"
"In an attempt to find that simple balance"
"Possessed by a mind without a factor"

The boys look up to me as I hide my shame
They know men do not cry
"Its okay Dad, we love you for who you are now"
"You've become more than just a simple number"
"To us, you are the worlds greatest father"

There it is
I think to myself
I am found
The reason I continue through the pain
(Balance Regained)

You are two colors, forever apart, Yet in your contrast, you touch my heart. Though opposites dwell in a Delicate dance,

In shadows and light, you offer a chance. Like the moon that embraces the suns warm glow, You taught me of balance, of ebb and flow.

But now I find myself wandering Alone, A reminder of love that feels like a stone. You were the yang to my yin, my guiding light,

Now just a whisper, fading into the night. In the stilness of silence, | long for your flame, In the depths of my heart, I stil feel your name.

With love,
@Nolongerumano

The Dragon year, a vibrant hue,
Now fades, a memory, bittersweet and true.
Solitude's embrace, a winter's chill,
Gave way to warmth, a love that time can't ****.

The Rabbit year, a sorrow's bitter sting,
Left scars unseen, a wounded spirit's wing.
The Dragon's dawn, a fragile, timid bloom,
Seeking solace in life's quiet room.

But destiny, with gentle, guiding hand,
Revealed a soul, a kindred understand.
Beyond the surface, deep within her core,
The anguish seen, and wounds forevermore.

A solace offered, unexpected grace,
Two souls entwined in a warm embrace.
The spark ignited, a love beyond compare,
Mending the broken, easing every care.

Now hand in hand, they journey to the Snake,
A new beginning, for love's sweet sake.
Heart to heart, a balance they will find,
Forever bound, in love's embrace entwined.

Give yourself permission to let go and to hold on tight;
Astute meditation, revolving might.
Every pulse an echo of the constant fight,
To balance the inner darkness and light.

We usually say "step into the light"
when there's nothing but night
but do we say "step into the night"
when the light is so bright that it
not only blinds but burns out our eyes?

When extremist's play their games
to blind our sensitive eyes
it doesn't matter if they're
using darkness or light

It's all the same if you're snowblind
or just left alone in the dark
whether it's viral or bacterial
it's still an infection

Feeling our way in the heavy black
air – too thick to breathe
fumbling around in the light
gray
air -- too thin to breathe

Caught in the loop of groping
the walls of our minds
in twilight
struggling to refocus in moonlight
then so exhausted by daybreak
that we sleep it all off until dusk

Too much darkness
Too much light
Too much cold
Too much heat
Too much pleasure
Too much pain
Too much sunshine
Too much rain
You can have too little
or too much of anything.