"Afraid" Inspired by A Spark in the Cinders:

Afraid

I am afraid of the dark,

where whispers learn to shout.

Turn back, they say,

you’ll never succeed.

They close in on my thoughts

as surely as the darkness

reaches out to touch my vulnerable flesh.

You messed up last time, they remind,

you’ll always be a failure.

Each thought grows stronger

as the light I carry dims.

It’s better to turn back now, I concede,

before I make it worse.

In the silence, the darkness gloats,

holding me tighter,

binding me for life.

But, in the silence,

I hear my light’s last cry:

You are the louder voice, it promises,

if only you let yourself speak.

In the dying glow of hope,

it sounds like truth.

I am stronger than you, I tell the whispers.

I will try again

until I make my own success, I tell the darkness.

The whispers haven’t stopped,

but now the dark is afraid of me.