☯️ It’s always been easier to step into my shadow self.
To step into the darkness — the comforts of being incognito.
A soft place
for my shadows to welcome me in
and offer concealment.
I didn’t have to identify
with my features, my skin,
my sexuality,
my facade,
where I grew up, which sports that I played or
the neighborhood that I lived in.
I slipped into my humble corner of the world and freed myself with
pencils and paints.
It was my safe haven - I was protected there.
I allowed the tips of my fingers to translate the words I couldn’t say.
The light from the canvas lifted the dim curtains of my eyelids,
peeling them back and
blinking softly to allow the light to drift in slowly.
You see, the darkness was always gentle.
It never forced me to stand openly in the daylight.
Blindingly.
The light illuminated everything I didn’t want to believe,
But grew to accept and understand.
I’ve learned hiding eats away at you
& consumes you entirely
yet we cannot have one without the other.
’Tis the yin and yang of life.
There’s power in both. ☀️🌙