Be Your Own Light!

-
The last few years
Had been difficult.
We have come this far
Walked the winding path,
Taken the grueling journey,
With hurdles aplenty,
With setbacks so many.

Where there was light,
There is now darkness.
Throughout.
Everywhere we see.

Moving forward seemed impossible
In the start.
“No way, I can’t see a thing,” I told you.

'Sshh…
Wait for it to settle.
We're in this together.
We’ve got this!'
You whispered.

And so it did.
We squinted through the inky black.
A path slowly appeared.

It seemed rough,
Winding and isolated
But our only way forward.

Err… 'Should we?', 'What if?', 'Why can’t?'
A million questions buzzed through my head
As we stood there hand in hand,
Weighing our choices.

Shall we call for help?
Somebody might turn up?
Why take the risk?
I asked, frantically.

You contemplated for a moment
And hesitantly agreed.

So we called out
For help
To all those we knew,
To all those dear and near,
To all those we believed,
We completely trusted.

But…
Lol!

All we heard was
Silence
Of those who suddenly happened
To have lost the ability to speak,
Or maybe had lost memories too.
All we got were blank stares
From strangers
Who were once close allies.

Making it obvious in plain sight
Who would be there for us
And who wouldn’t.
All becoming plain and clear
The hard, heart-wrenching truth:

WE
ARE
ON
OUR
OWN !

We’ve always been.
It’s just that it had taken us this long
To realise it.

But what hurt the most?
It wasn’t denial
It was scorn and mockery.
When a few of them
Chose to blame us
For our plight,
Looking down at us
As though we were deep down a pit.
This…
This was cruel and heartless.

But eventually,
It was this
That made us tough.

I remember holding your hand,
Firmly squeezing it,
As hot tears streamed down my face,
My breathing erratic and raspy,
As I tugged you forward,
Grunting: “We are enough!”

And…
We walked and walked—
Not waiting for anyone,
Not worrying about what
May come,
Not caring about the setbacks
Or dangers—
We walked.

The darkness slowly
Faded away,
Clearing our vision,
Lighting up our path.
We were our own light.

And now…
I see at a distance
Our final stop—
Warm and welcoming,
Lying in wait
To embrace us,
Looking at us
As though
It had long known
That we’d come
This far.
As though
It had known
Our journey
Throughout.

We can feel
Our worries slowly
Fade away.
It doesn’t hurt that much now.
The memories
Of the insults, the shame,
The taunts, the mockery,
The pitfalls, the setbacks—
Are slowly weaning away.

It’s about time.
Just a short way to go
Before we hug each other tight,
With happy tears and muffled sobs,
Whispering in each other’s ears:
“We made it!”

So, my dear,
Never let the complexities
And unpredictability
Of life
Dim your glow.
Shine from within.
Be your own light.

For in the end,
Only that lasts—
While nothing,
Or no one,
Does.

________________________________________

Author's Note:
This poem is a tribute to all relationships that strive to stand the test of time—to all those couples who fight the odds with iron hearts, navigating the harsh unpredictability of life hand in hand. Together, they walk through the darkness—one being the light, the other the lantern.
Be your own light. 🕯️

________________________________________

🖼️ https://www.freepik.com

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