It hits you out of nowhere,
Just when you least expect it
Not a care in the world, just walking along
Just whistling a tune, like birdsong
The sun is shining what a great day
But something is waiting in the dark kept at bay
But I keep skipping and laughing
Basking in the light of this great day i’m having
I take a deep breath and sigh all my worries away
But something in the shadowed corner hitches my airway
I just keep walking, looking up at the sky
But then my foot trips and I let out a soft cry
I tumble on a set of stairs going down
The longer I fall I realize that I’m far from my hometown
The flight of stairs was endless as I finally hit solid ground
Bruised, I look around in this hauntinly dark compound
I try to stand but all strength in me has vanished
I suddenly weep in this place with which i’ve been banished
Far above this dark place I see a tiny light
Must be a way out, if only I had mastered flight
But those phantom wings of mine are stuck in sticky tar
Stuck in this hole unable to fly to the light that’s my acting north star
Days, weeks, even months pass bye
How long has it been since I’ve seen that shining blue sky?
The black sticky shadows slowly grow over me, holding me there
The only water I drink are my own tears, and I gasp for my own air
I come to realize what must be done
I have to pull off the shadows or the darkness has already won
I have to get up if I want to take back what the dark has stole
Because no one has a rope long enough to reach me in this hole
I’m hidden in my own sinking dungeon, a dark quicksand
But I push off my hands, rise from my knees and begin to stand
There may be no rope, or no ladder for me to scale
But I know a way to get out of this shadowed, sinking jail
I cup my frail hands to my chest and they fill with golden light
It overflowing my hands and pushes back the dungeons dark night
It covers my body and melts the tar from those phantom wings
The gold light fades away leaving feathered wings, and I smile at the hope that it
brings
My eyes search up above for that light filled hole
It looks so far away, but I know my goal
My feet leave the ground in one powerful wing beat
I fly out of that dark, gloomy hole, and i’m met with the warm sun’s heat
My golden feather wings disappear as soon as I land on that sidewalk concrete
WILDsound Writing Festival 