Yet I smile..

I find myself asking sometimes,

Where did I go wrong?

How did I end up in this labyrinth?

The chaos inside my head sucks all the life out of me.

The world doesn’t help either,

With all its broken promises of freedom, acceptance, empathy and love.

The more I go forward, the more I despise what we have come to.

The dark seems more terrifying than ever,

And those whispers keep getting louder.

Yet, in the darkest of hours, with whatever courage I am left with

I light up the candle,

And stand before the mirror, holding it in my hand.

I see myself in the reflection,

And the darkness standing just behind me.

It looks helpless in that moment and I smile,

I smile not because my fear fades away completely, but because in that moment,

Even if just for a while, I defeat that darkness.