Weird Tides by Kayla Cook

Dirge of the Found

Originally published on this site on Aug. 30, 2020; By Kayla Cook

 

An early morning prayer,

a nightly flood of tears,

a growing sense of fear that makes

all my thoughts unclear.


Fear that I'll never

be free of this pain

that rips right through my body,

my heart, my soul, my brain.


Watch without seeing this pain that's never leaving.

Hear without heeding the war drums in me beating.

See the rays fall under the darkening of the sky.

See the sky within my being darken as they die.


Is there a way to finally

fly back up into the light,

out of the pain 

that never seems to want to go away?


The early morning prayer,

the nightly flood of tears,

the growing sense of fear

that makes all my thoughts unclear.


All of these combine

to keep me tied up, in a bind

that I won't be able to break

without crossing over the line.

 

Watch without seeing the soul within me grieving.

Hear without heeding the darkness in me seething.

See the darkness spreading; see the light retreat.

See the ground get stolen out from beneath my feet.

 

There is a way to finally

fly back up into the light,

out of the pain

that never seems to want to go away.


The early morning prayer,

the nightly flood of tears,

one has ceased to flow, the other

has finally drowned out my fears.


Fears that won't ever

tear at me again;

fears that won't ever 

creep along beneath my skin.

 

Watch now and see the darkness in me leave.

Hear now and heed the bugle cry and take the lead.

See the demons flee; see the light break free.

See the darkness fall down far, far beneath the sea.

 

I found the way to finally

fly back up into the light,

out of the pain

that never seemed to want to go away.

 

Copyright Ⓒ 2020 by Kayla Cook

 

This poem began as a school project. When I was in tenth grade, I had to write a song by replacing the lyrics of an old hymn with my own original ones. Instead of using a traditional hymn, I used the Nightwish song, "The Islander." I've made some modifications since then to make this stronger and more balanced as a standalone poem, but the rhythm is still similar enough to be comparable with the Nightwish song.