The Usefulness of Shadows
We must not belittle the strength of shadows
Though tongues christen them bad.
They wear the surname of darkness
Because their hands sometimes borrow without return,
Because their footsteps bruise peace,
Because blood has learned their names.
Yet see........
Even the thorn tutors the careless palm.
When you drop gold in the open field,
They are the swift reminder,
Bending to pick what your wisdom forgot.
Next dawn, your pockets learn vigilance
Thus, sense is schooled by loss.
They are society’s sharp mirror,
Reflecting negligence without mercy.
They steal today,
So you guard tomorrow.
In corridors of labour,
They rise as resistance
Antagonists in tailored suits,
Whose bitterness becomes a whip,
Driving the diligent to run faster than comfort.
In homes, they sit at the same table,
Wolves wrapped in kinship,
Testing patience, pressing purpose,
Forcing sleepers to wake into relevance.
They bruise, they block, they burden
Yet by their weight, muscles of destiny grow.
They dance as agents of hell,
Frustration stitched into their smiles,
But I wonder
If the devil retired,
Would faith still find volunteers?
For pain is a loud prophet,
Adversity, a stubborn evangelist.
Sickness kneels the proud,
Loss lifts eyes heavenward,
And tears teach prayers their alphabet.
So let us confess this uneasy truth:
Light learns definition from darkness.
Gold proves itself in fire.
And goodness sharpens its spine
Because evil dares to exist.
Yes.............
Bad people are not blessings,
But they are lessons.
Unwelcome, unholy, undeniable
They are society’s hard teachers,
And growth often answers their call.
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