The Cavern Within – A Poem

I try to find myself

by going inward.

I make my way

past the barrier of skin

that holds a roadmap

made from scars and cuts,

each a reminder

of the road that I’ve been on.

I make my way within

and I can see objects

that litter the floor inside of me:

books and crystals,

each of them shining in the half light,

a tarot card that floats in front of me

so that I am unable to see

what it reveals.

There is the sound of music

coming from the cavern

and I’m unable to place the tune.

I move further into myself

towards a whispering sound

and come upon a sea of words.

The words are from the stories  

I have yet to tell.

Interspersed amongst the words

are splashes of colour,

brilliant reds and dark blues,

vibrant purples, each colour a jewel

in the constant flow of words.

I reach down into the water

and run my fingers

through the words and the colours,

they feel electric on my skin.

I see a boat on the rivers edge

and I climb carefully into it.

Letting the boat take me where it will,

As it travels through the water,

the words making a soft whispering sound,

the light in the cavern grows brighter.

I look around myself

and I can see pictures moving

within the flow of water,

people that shaped me,

memories that I’ve held on to,

ones that have given me scars

and others that have taken them away.

I run my fingers through the waters

holding the thoughts I no longer need

and watch them disappear.

I’ve already learned the lessons

that they were trying to teach me.

The boat moves deeper within me

and I can see a light in the centre of a small cavern.

The boat stops in front of it and I get out.

In front of me is a ball of light

so warm and so warm

that I can feel the heat of it

from where I stand.

I approach it and the light zooms towards me,

and sinks below my skin in one quick movement.

It is the light that I’ve forgotten,

a part of me that has remained hidden

for far too long.

As I get back into the boat and head back

the way that I came,

I hold my hands up to my chest

where the light sits within me.

I move back towards the barrier of my skin

and I wonder if I will be able to feel the warmth

when I am back on the other side

and how much brighter

I will be.