William Kelii Kekaula Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

Poetic Form: Free Verse

Venting or Redemption Poetry Contest

Sponsor: Seth Pina

Entry Submitted: 2026 April 03

Contest Judged: 2026 April 08

Contest Placement: 2nd Place

The Mapmaker of Stillness

It began not with a crash, but a slow leaking of color,
A heavy velvet curtain, drawing shut upon the sun.
For years, I lived in the basement of my own mind,
Where the air was thick, and the mirrors only held
The pale reflection of a ghost I used to know.
I learned the geography of the void,
The silent, arctic cold of a heart that dared not beat
For fear of breaking.

Then came the slow, stubborn, agonizing rise.
It was not a sudden flight, but a creeping vine
Pushing through concrete, a single jagged leaf
Turning toward a sun that felt too bright, too loud.
I learned to forgive the bed that held me captive,
To praise the hands that could only tremble
Lift a cup of tea.

I traded the grand, sweeping hope of the healthy
For the quiet, minute-by-minute survival.
I learned that recovery is not a straight line,
But a spiral, revisiting old shadows with new light,
Woven of small, unglamorous mercies:
The smell of rain, the warmth of tea, the breath
That moves in and out without asking why.

Now, the silence is not a prison, but a sanctuary.
I am a mapmaker of my own scarred landscape,
Mapping the deep ravines of past sorrow
And the surprising, vibrant flowers that grew
Only because of the rain.
I am whole, not despite the broken pieces,
But because I learned to gather them,
And hold them, gently, in the palm of a tender,
Hard-won, and beautiful life.

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