Out Of The Darkness

by Adam DeHoll (at age 17)

From out of the darkness I came, towards the light of fulfillment
The darkness enveloped me in shame and hostility
The despair made one feel like a blackened rose in a basket of fresh petals
I was a blackened rose that didn’t have feeling or life in it
I was a rose that didn’t need sunlight to thrive
Gloom and misery were my water and blackened darkness was my soil
My petals had no spark of energy and vigor
They were made of coal that had no fuel in it
They were part of a life without real water
a life without really any rich soil
But as it’s always darkest before the dawn
The light came out and made sweet rain for my roots
It’s soil became as rich as a Saudi oil sheik
My soil has feeling and growth in it
My petals have the energy of hope renewed in them
My leaves have the greenness of the Emerald Isle
The darkness has gone and all that is left is a limitless opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Min An