Inside Out: A Poem

 

Inside Out

You feel the weight. The shadow’s press.
The world, unmoving, feeds your distress.
It does not shift, it does not care
and leaves you stranded, gasping for air.

A victim's lens, so clouded and dim,
draws all light inward and keeps it grim.
Yet pause, turn and refocus sight,
what if your gift could cast new light?

Two forms of one, a tale unfolds;
truth by carbon the parent told.
The diamond shines, its facets gleam,
a beacon bright, a dreamer’s dream.

Its brilliance comes from inner grace,
a self-lit fire and a boundless space.
Yet charcoal craves the light outside,
and in that longing, dims its pride.

What is life if not to share,
knowledge, joy, and love laid bare?
Carbon whispers of a light within your soul,
Its radiant flow can heal and make you whole.

Be not the charcoal, seeking more,
a bottomless pit or a closing door.
Instead, be diamond, radiant, and true,
the light within will guide you through.

Let not the world act upon you,
but you act instead, be bold, and break through.
From inside out, a light wave streams,
building others and fulfilling dreams.

Be the actor, take the stage
and turn the sorrow into sage.
For when you give, you truly see,
the boundless self you’re meant to be.