Lessons in the Dark Take a deep breath, Hold it for a moment, Then release… You held on too long, Your mind went black, And for a brief moment you forgot, You forgot the lessons in the darkness, The lessons learned in the pain, And you were free, flower-like, fairyhood, Free as a cobweb in a corner, Not limited by design and bound by perfection, Just free, No expectations, no considerations, For a brief and hesitant moment, Rising up and gathering dust, But as soon as you remembered to release, As soon as you remembered the second half Of breathing, As sure as the cobweb rises and falls with The passing of errant unseen ghosts, You released, And you remembered the darkness, Management of pain that comes rushing back, The struggle to not weep for self-pity’s sake, All of it came back, And you even forgot that held breath, The blackness became stuttered with images and Pictures and considerations again, Who is who and what is what, Again, The pain, The release of freedom, The act of being alive suddenly suffocating you When all you want to do is just… Hold your breath, Hold on, And release the lessons learned in the dark…