Sending Light – A Poem

It was a surprise

to see her. She

looked at me and

the smile didn’t really

reach her eyes. She

told me how nice

it was to see me,

but the words fell

from her lips like

stones she was glad

to be rid of. She

asked me how I

was doing. I told

her that the appointment

went well, that I

had passed the baseline

they had set two

years ago, that I

was stronger than ever.

“I even stopped walking with the cane.”

I told her, proudly.

“Well that’s just great.”

It didn’t sound great

coming from her lips.

“Meanwhile, I’m looking at a wheelchair.”

I told her that

I owed her a

debt of thanks. She

had told me to

take on a regimen of

stretches and exercise, that

this would help the

fight against my body.

She smiled and it

looked as if it

were paining her to

to so. She let

out a throaty laugh.

“I see a physiotherapist and they give me exercises. But I’m a bad patient.”

We said our goodbyes

and I was glad

to be away from

her, from her gaze

that was filled with

steel and coldness. I

wanted to be out

of the line of

fire, at the daggers

she was shooting towards

me. I wondered if she

wanted me to be

as miserable as she

was. As I rode

home, I thought on

her behaviour. I couldn’t

fault her for it.

Indeed, I remembered how

It was for me,

deep within that dark

forest, alone with my

anger and hate at

what I had become.

I made the choice

to drag myself out

of the dark forest,

out of the shadows,

and into the light.

It was not an

easy choice to make.

Much as I hated

my life than, anger

is easier. So I

understood her vehemence, even

though I was no

longer that way myself.

So I did the

only thing I could

do. When I got

home, I sat for

a moment and pictured

a bright, shining light

that pulsed with energy.

Then I pushed that

light away from me

and sent it towards

her, hoping that when

it arrived, the light

would show her the

way out of her

own dark forest and

chase away her shadows.