I was bound in chains I could not see,
A prisoner to my own misery.
Whispers of doubt, a crushing weight,
The silent scream of a hopeless state.
I stood in shadows, cold and alone,
With nothing but silence to call my home.
My mind a battlefield, a ceaseless fight,
As day bled into dark, and dark into night.
The mirror showed me a ghost of despair,
A hollow stare with nothing to share.
No light within me, no fire to guide,
Just a wandering soul, nowhere to hide.
Pain was my blanket, fear my friend,
I asked if this was how it would end.
Would I be forever lost, unseen, unheard?
Would my heart stay numb, unfeeling, disturbed?
But even in the darkest of nights,
A flicker of hope would break through the fight.
A whisper, a question, a faint trace of will,
That begged me to rise, to fight, to feel.
"Why?" I asked, when surrender felt near,
"Why should I break, when life’s still here?"
A question so simple, but it tore me apart,
And from the ashes, a spark would start.
With trembling hands and a heart full of fear,
I clung to the light, though it seemed unclear.
Each day I crawled, one step at a time,
Climbing through chaos, through pain so prime.
The days grew longer, the nights more bright,
I learned to trust in the inner fight.
The pain was still there, but I held it tight,
A piece of my past, but not my light.
And now I stand, not unscathed, but free,
A warrior forged from the struggle to be.
I’ve learned that the flame never dies,
It flickers, it falters, but it still flies.
I know now that darkness can’t hold me forever,
That the questions are answers that guide us together.
From the depths of despair, I’ve come to believe,
That no matter the fall, I’ll always rise to achieve.
So I spread my wings, no longer bound,
In the light of my journey, I’ve finally found
That the power within, though tested and torn,
Is a fire that burns, and will never be mourned.
This poem captures my journey from the depths of depression to the eventual awakening and self-discovery that followed. The pain, fear, and struggle were all-consuming, but they served as stepping stones toward understanding my worth, strength, and the power of perseverance. This is a tribute to anyone who feels lost or trapped in their own darkness — there is hope, and with time, we can climb out and find the light again.
