The Dam Is Breaking
On the long sleep of being your own worst enemy — and the slow, patient breaking that comes after.
There’s a kind of awakening that happens after years of throwing rocks at yourself. The poem is for that.
I’m ready to awake from my slumber
A night lasting many years
Where my own thoughts were solid rocks
Thrown at me—I shed so many tears
I look back at my fears, my paranoia
And wonder if things could have changed
But without these trials, without the pain
I wouldn’t have found the knowledge I’ve attained
I remain restrained, yet the dam is breaking
The water will flow effortlessly, one day
That’s what keeps me going, I suppose
Faith in my star-gazing, far far away
The dam doesn’t break all at once. It breaks slowly, in small fractures, over years. The water will flow effortlessly, one day — and the day arrives quieter than you expected, and you’re somewhere different than where you started.
— JTC