I thought I heard the echo of a song,
reverberating against the wet stone walls
where I had hidden in my cave in the snow.
I believed I was seeking enlightenment
struggling in darkness with old foes
catching glimmers of light
out of the corner of my eye.
But the flashes of brilliance were painful.
I couldn’t bring myself to look directly into
their light
or hear the song that rang like a bell in the
distance.
I turned away.
I thought I was growing stronger
as I fought old demons,
but I was only hiding from my greatest fears.
The old wounded demons still twitched with
life
as I poked them with my sword,
but they were laid low and were no longer a
threat.
I just liked my new power and enjoyed
tormenting them
as they had been with me for far too long.
The fighting gave me power.
It was a liar.
In the hushed silence,
I began to hear the song more clearly.
It sang of forgiveness.
It sang of freedom.
Taking a deep breath, I lay down my sword
and sat beside the wounded demons,
speaking their names with love,
stroking
their wounds
with hands now filled with soft light.
We sat in a circle of healing that went on
for lifetimes
yet time did not exist within this circle.
At last they rose up and left without a word
walking back into the Cosmos
leaving me in the darkness.
The song exploded into the cave
filling it with light, grief, tears and
soul-burning knowledge.
It had been waiting for so long to come to me,
to be heard,
but I was turned away battling my demons.
It sang of hardship, great loss, and the need
to be strong.
The song’s light fell on smooth stones
arranged in beautiful sculptures around my
cave.
The song of the Divine told me the dam would
burst,
but the stones will hold.
I will be lifted up in sadness and great
strength
and I will never be alone.
pulling us down
but we will rise into the brilliance
within ourselves.
I saw the power in the stillness of stones
and peace without struggles
I walked out of the cave into the new day
leaving the sword behind.