The Light: A Poem By Karah Ballew

*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Karah Ballew, author and poet out of El Paso, Tx.

I don’t know how to pray anymore.
It’s part of my heart that’s hurting and sore.
I whisper out lines beginning with “Lord”
And soon find it’s something my heart can’t afford.

I’m tired of trying to make sense of things,
Of crying and fighting for new beginnings.
I’m sick of the beat from the tumultuous tide
That constantly tears at my withered pride.

But I’m taking the risks that I’ve never tried,
Hoping there’s life on the other side.
I find that my feet will carry me far
When I let them choose a new path to start.

So here I am walking, blazing a trail
As my dark past launches a violent assail.
But guess where I’m going, that dark past can’t come.
It’s a place as bright as the summer sun.

It’s warm and inviting and covered with dew.
It’s the land of life, filled with all things new.

As I get closer, my self-contempt
Can’t survive in the light of this radiance.
The fire is hot and only the gold
Will remain at the end of these days of old.

I am gleaming and glittering and shining bright.
I’m stepping into a new kind of light.

I’m home here, I see,
The light and I are one.
It’s always been me
I am the sun.

Karah Ballew grew up in the Dallas Fort Worth area and began writing to make sense of her experiences early on. She has a desire to see people find their path of healing and likes to support them in their journeys. Karah is discovering her love of art and poetry and finds her own healing and fulfillment in sharing her work. She currently lives in El Paso, Texas with her husband and two sons.