Darkness Doesn’t Fade

wisdom can be a funny thing

sometimes it’s a special delivery…

hidden in words spoken quite casually

others…it lands with a resounding ring

like the day that bell sounded for me

I met her the summer before my liberation

she was the reason my abuse came to an end

I didn’t recognize the import of that day

but she gave me a gift I can never repay

she appeared to be riding the outer edge of her life

ancient and forgotten…and so very wise

and she saw my truth without any hints

knew the cause of my torment was him

she sat on her sagging porch in the shade

when he dragged me through her broken gate

I don’t know what he thought we would find

but he always had ulterior motives in mind

she fed us ice cream and told us stories

and she had something more precious for me

she offered words I have never forgotten

he never knew what that day would cost him

you need to see things more clearly

darkness isn’t an absence of light

girl, it’s a lack of any real empathy 

you fear a different kind of night

and that…is how it’s meant to be

your instinct has always been right

we sat together and chatted for hours

while he grew bored his attention wandered

then she looked me square in the eye

tilted her head slightly toward his side

“girl, you need to break yourself free

and you know exactly what I mean”

I didn’t…at least, not in that moment

but it had the feel of a very clear omen 

and I heard whispering begin deep inside…

“run…don’t look back…now is the time”

it settled back in with a calming silence 

waiting until I understood that advice

then I acted without a backward glance

ending years of abuse at his hands

I’ll always remember her…

with her quiet grace

I owe her my gratitude…

for showing me the way

I think about her to this day

and I wonder…

if she knew about the life she saved

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