Light

What I don’t understand is how she sees herself so differently than the world,

Is it her fault she doesn’t see her purpose? Who else would be to blame?

Time and time again reminded of what she has to be thankful for,

Then time and time again overcome by the harrowing notion that still nothing is right,

She wonders if it matters, if there is anything she can do, if she can be happy,

I try to convince her that sometimes this feeling comes, that she will be fine,

Fine. She repeats. Fine is what she tells people even while life feels as if it were caving in,

She wishes to escape this feeling, escape whatever is causing the pain,

It isn’t easy to understand, how it can consume you, how it seems there is no way out,

Every day is an opportunity, I remind her, a chance to find that way out, that purpose.

Her smile deceives them all, she says, faking is easy once accustomed,

I tell her to keep her head up, to stay afloat,

She tells me about skipping rocks across the waves of the sea,

How you watch, hoping to see it bounce up, sail above the water,

But a stone can only skip so many times before sinking,

Sinking down like her gaze as she walks,

I long to to see her gain the courage to lift her head, to face the world for what it is,

To accept herself for who she is.  But if anyone asks, she doesn’t bother with the truth,

The way she sees it there are two ways things can unwind,

Either way you see the light,

Seeing the light at the end or finding the light from within.