Embers

What to do with this revelation, I ponder,
A question that sears, as lightning’s thunder.
So far I’ve journeyed, a path unknown,
The person I was, no longer my own.

Alien it feels, to gaze upon the past,
To recognize myself, a spell that’s cast.
Is this the essence of true change, I wonder,
The growth that blooms, amidst life’s thunder?

Yet here I stand, in the gilded cage,
Comfort of yore, yet filled with rage.
The dark forest, a distant land,
Yet the wound within, I still withstand.

Over time, I’ve learned to bear,
The weight of the wound, the burden’s snare.
But deep within, a voice does cry,
Transform this pain, or let it pry.

Through the artificer’s toys, I tread,
Slowly, gently, my spirit fed.
Change is upon me, outside and in,
Yet the warden’s gaze, a shadowy din.

Long ago, in the midst of my pain,
The warden battled, but fought in vain.
Frozen in time, its will did break,
Change, a threat it cannot shake.

I feel the watcher’s gaze, its intent,
Measuring, analyzing, relentless, bent.
This pain, this wound, mine to bear,
Should the warden discover, I beware.

For it will consume, devour whole,
Leaving me trapped, in my own soul.
So I must act, this truth I see,
Before the warden takes hold of me.

Again into shadows, I retreat,
The same sign as before, a familiar beat.
Yet different it feels, this time around,
In the dark forest, where once I found.

I burned bright, amidst the night,
Saw the light, felt its might.
Within me now, that flame does reside,
What the warden seeks, what it cannot hide.

But I am strong, no longer its pawn,
It cannot take, as it has drawn.
So the warden despairs, in its grasp,
For what it ignores, it cannot clasp.

Into the shadows, unseen I must tread,
Though for the light, I was once bred.