Fading Embers

Fading Embers

I linger in shadows, weary and worn,
And whisper to myself from dusk to dawn:
“Enough now, surrender—lay down your fight,
How long will you stumble, fall, and rise?”

What strange and relentless fire burns within?
A charred, lifeless log yet blazes again;
Miles upon miles, the silence holds sway,
Yet the will to live refuses to fade away.

Cry if you must, laugh if you can—just live,
Steal one little moment, and let your heart breathe.
You are a tender bud, innocent and bright;
Bloom into a flower—open your petals to light.

This sinking boat, tossed by the tide,
Needs but a tiny twig to cling to and abide.
Let someone offer a hand, a little ray,
And let every buried hope awaken today.

The journey was beautiful, the dream was true;
Never did I wish for the end to come through.
Why then did destiny stumble me along the way,
And leave me bruised beneath its blows each day?

I have faced the tempest, the thunder, the rain,
A lone, weary traveller acquainted with pain.
Yet onward I walk, undaunted, undeterred—
For somewhere ahead, my path will be cleared.

And though the night may stretch cold and long,
A distant dawn is already growing strong.
I shall gather my dreams from the dust where they lie,
And rise with the morning, beneath an awakening sky.

For storms cannot silence a heart that still dreams,
Nor darkness extinguish its innermost gleam.
I shall walk on with courage as my guiding light—
Until hope becomes dawn, and my dawn becomes bright.