When shall the light return

When shall the light return
When shall in time the truth we learn
While all within us doth burn
Shall we but ne'er turn

Broken inside
This shattered soul
Hath nowhere to hide

Cannot this pain
Prolonged
Bring anything
But suffering

Clutching at the cracks
Peaking out of this shell
Bound within torment
Torment of hell

Twill not this blazed heat
Scarce but lift from my feet
While all around tis burning
Yet yearning something near and far

Longing to be near to anything at all
Anything whether great or small
Choking on these shards of sand
Cutting in
Seeping within the solace
That perchance had never been

The mind plays against itself
None is without its tortured game
Selfish endeavored
Arrogance leads

All its ways are to its own
Earthly praise

Shall hope
Ever hopelessly
Evade our way
Or ist still
Some shade (at least)
To cool the drought
Of despair

If only
In loneliness
Find our way
Lead back
To a quieter day

Where morning sunrise
Did twinkle our eyes
Back when the days
Seemed easier
To gaze

Out into longing
Fulfilling our dream
Though not quite knowing
What it might bring

Grace hath severed
All earthly desires endeavored
And paid in full
All that had bound us
Breaking the bonds
Bearing the pain

All for us
That we should gain
Hope of tomorrow
And tomorrows ahead

Restoring the joy
By which once
Were we fed

So onward
Onward we tread
Into the sunlit
Pathway ahead

-Joshua Lee Foist