What the Light Took
A short piece about survival disguised as illumination
I was intact
before you.
***
Not whole.
Just
unbroken.
***
The dark knew me.
It kept its distance.
***
Then you arrived
looking like an answer.
***
Low glow.
Steady pulse.
***
Something to move toward
without asking why.
***
I adjusted my life
around you.
***
Called it alignment.
***
You taught me
how to stand closer
than safety allows.
***
Your warmth
rewrote my instincts.
***
Fear learned
a new name.
***
I reached
because you never told me
not to.
***
Pain felt earned.
Necessary.
Almost holy.
***
Light screamed.
***
Then collapsed.
***
No warning.
No goodbye.
***
Just absence
where certainty had lived.
***
I stood
holding the memory
of heat.
***
Skin altered.
Vision sharpened.
***
The dark returned
but it no longer lied.
***
I understood then—
***
Some lights don’t guide.
They consume.
***
And survival
is learning
how to glow
without burning yourself alive. 🌑🔥
*****
If this poem stayed with you, there are others waiting nearby.
Different moods. Same pulse.
About the Creator
Aarsh Malik
Poet, Storyteller, and Healer.
Sharing self-help insights, fiction, and verse on Vocal.
Anaesthetist.
...
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More stories from Aarsh Malik and writers in Poets and other communities.
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By Kristy Andersona day ago in Geeks
Comments (6)
Hooooo! That has REAL hang time Aarsh. Power-full! Crafted excellence.
Wow! Amazing! Very touching!
LOVE IT . HUGS NICE ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
That was really good
This poem is profound. "Your warmth rewrote my instincts." - instincs are linked to animals behavior, but also to things that we do without thinking. The rewriting of the instincts are, I believe, is about them becoming softer, slower, safety-oriented, and not harsh, fast instinct that attest to unsafe behavior. But the twist is that the speaker isn't safe with her or and after she leaves, in "Some lights don’t guide. They consume."
And survival is learning how to glow without burning yourself alive. My favorite lines! When we get that, some of us consider it thriving.😉💕💖