Chasing Away the Dark

A narrative poem about a couple and the girl self harms. They are in bed together one night, and this story takes place a little after they just had in argument, in which he took away her blades.

He tried to soothe her,

as they sat on the bed together,

in the dark.

Only a hint of light was in the room,

as a small lamp desperately tried

to illuminate the space around it

and it worked to push the darkness away.

She sat on the edge of the bed,

her toes curled up on the woodwork.

Her knees were up to her face,

and her smooth arms held them there,

as he fought to maintain her composure.

She didn’t want him to see her cry yet again.

She was a strong girl,

that’s always what she had been told,

and she had grown to believe it.

She believed that she had to mask her pain,

and hide her tears,

because she was a strong girl,

and that’s what the world wanted from her.

He lay across the bed,

his arms supporting him and holding his back

off the bed ever so slightly.

Her back was to him, and he stared at her,

unsure of what she would do.

He loved her beautiful black hair,

he always had. And right now,

he just wanted to tell her how beautiful she was.

How important she was to him.

As they sat in that darkness,

he knew she was holding in her tears,

as she always tried to do.

He began to rub his hand up and down her back,

as lightly as was possible.

His lips released a feeble-sounding

“I love you”

and then her composure was gone.

The tears streamed down her face

as she realized that that was all that it took to make her happy.

A simple “I love you” was all it took

to open up the floodgates for a tidal wave

of emotions that would run smoothly up to her heart

and make her whole again.

He knew this too.

He knew her, he knew what she was like.

He knew who she was behind the strong girl.

He knew that she was beautiful,

and that the only reason she cut herself

was because others couldn’t  understand

that sometimes being strong is really being weak.

If you are afraid to show others your emotions,

then do not call the ones that do show theirs

weak, because you are the one with fear in your heart,

my friend.

As she began to cry,

he jumped up and held her tight,

and let her rest her head on his chest

because that always seemed to make her feel better.

She always wanted that security.

For the moments that he was holding her that way,

she felt as though nothing could ever hurt her.

In moments like these, he felt like he was a real man,

even though people throughout his entire life

told him that he was nothing, and he would never be

a real man.

In those moments, he knew that he was her safety,

and that he was her security.

That night, they fell asleep in each other’s arms,

and the next morning they tried to be happy,

for they had chased away the dark.

Author's Note

I am open to any kind of criticism, harsh or otherwise. We need criticism in order to grow and become better at what we do. If you have any questions about this poem, or any of my other poems, or any questions about me in general, feel free to ask. Also, if you have any personal stories that relate to this one, I would be more than willing to hear them.