Trilogy: 2. The Victory

[These are three writings from my senior year in high school. They are still so relevant in my life today, and I thought my readers would like to see them also.]


II. The Victory

Do you see the glory on my face?
Can you tell I'm free?
Have you noticed the rusted chains
That have fallen down from me!?

I am free! I am free!
My life as a senior
Which had grown its vines
of doubt and fear around me
Has finally been declared
a Glorious victory.

By blindly slashing the undergrowth
I have made it thus far,
But when I opened my eyes,
when the end was near
I became frightened by what I saw:
Thorny bushes and snaring moss
threatened to choke me;
Snakes slithering from far-off places
threatened to kill me.

I saw the light through the
closely-meshed branches:
The end was in sight.
But before the light loomed
the obstacles, and they began to haunt me.

I realized how exhausted I was.
How utterly and thoroughly tired I was.
Both body and soul cried out in pain.
I looked down — my blade was dull;
I looked behind me — I could no longer see
the trail I had blazed —
I only noticed a glimpse of wildflowers
That I had neglected on the way.
I looked around me — I was alone
And I cried out — for the missed beauty,
for the cuts and bruises now exhibited all over my soul,
for the jungle still ahead —
for the pain.

And I stopped
a weary traveler wanting some sleep
Wanting to drift on the tide
Instead of working any more.

But the thought of drifting on forever,
with nary a dream in sight,
exhausted me too, for I realized —
it takes energy to stay afloat.

And I sat there — the vines growing around
me like chains — tangling me farther
because of my hesitation and inaction.
Sometimes I would try to break free —
But my fatigued limbs were slow,
My sword dull, and I lost hope.
Many times I tried to break free;
Many times I thought I wouldn't care
If I just sat there,
But somehow I knew I could not do this.

Oh the pain! Oh the anguish!
If you only knew
The fire in my spirit was fighting its death.

Then I stopped,
tired of the struggle
I lay down and went to sleep.
I slept for a week,
ignoring the problems looming around and ahead of me.

I slept — fitfully at first,and then eased into a coma-like slumber
Dead to the world.

A sound awoke me —
A sound from my past.
Muted by time,
it was almost unheard.
But it awoke the very soul of my being
The part that said — "This is you,
This is your destiny"
And I knew I could be strong again.

And when I opened my eyes I saw
another way out — one that had
been there all along.
For, as I lay on the ground,
I was looking at the sky.

I laughed a little to myself,
as I unloaded my burdens
and set down my sword. I reached up
I took hold of an overhanging branch,
and I pulled myself up.

From here I could see the end!
From here I could say
I have not been beaten!
Sitting in that tree, I contemplated
for a while and realized
that balance is very important,
something I would have to learn
To survive this life.

I pulled up my sword, and found
it had been sharpened somewhat;
I smiled as I realized it had never been dull.

Right now, as I hack my way
through the obstacles in my way,
there are some I must step over.
I cannot concentrate wholly
on the vines,
for I have been picking a lot
more flowers lately.
And I am standing up straighter
now, too
so that the light shines on my face
and sparkles in my eyes.

I am still hacking away,
but I am at peace;
I am free!