A Shout Into the Void

I stood, At the edge of the abyss And stared deep into its void Letting its gloomy silence Fill up the empty shell That had become my heart! I stood, Tilting my will, Like a mad pendulum, Hesitating between choosing to jump in its depths Or to walk away from it When, Unable to bear with the weight of my own burden, I succumbed to the madness That hovered everywhere around me So much that it even invaded My usually fragranced mind, Adorned with its many roses! The void of the abyss seemed to be laughing at me And I could help it no more, Opening the many branches of my lungs, I shouted at it to tell it That it can claim victory over me Since, it, empty abyss, Has been able to destroy the fortress that poetry Has built all around me! My shout into its void Brought about a response from it, A response which left me flabbergasted And bewildered But which nevertheless had me Gathering myself back together And realising that my life can be stitched back Into the ornately decorated piece of clothing That I once was! Yes, the void whispered to me Of how inner strength is crucial in a world Which shall ever remain puzzling More so, Since the same power that impregnated me with Goodness, created the abyss And that I was brought to its edge For some purpose which got fulfilled The moment that I understood Of my inner potential! A shout into the void Echoed in the vacuum of my body And lighted in me, A flame, flickering and gentle But sturdy to withstand any storm! Poem written on 11 December 2021