If you’ve ever had a dream but been afraid to take action, if you’ve tried and failed before, or if you’ve forgotten who you are inside, this poem is for you. It’s inspired by my own journey through fearing who I am toward deeply knowing and loving that person – and dreaming bravely.
I spent a long time feeling dark inside and searching outside of me for something to light me up.
I’d catch a little glimpse of it from time to time, a fleeting moment of feeling true and engaged. But mostly, I’d wander around feeling lost and fraudulent. No matter how good I got at pretending, I’d still hold my breath, waiting for the moment someone called me out as an imposter.
Over the years, the little realizations of who I am and what I’m here for built up, and I decided that maybe, just maybe, I’m worth more than faking my way through life, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a real version of me “out there” somewhere. I had no idea what the alternative would look like, but I figured the little fleeting moments were my clue.
Once I started listening without judgment or doubt, those fleeting moments grew louder and larger, and pretty soon, I was racing to keep up with them.
Here’s what I’ve learned on this journey so far: the true me isn’t out there, but in me, right where it’s been there this whole time. Along with everything else I’d been searching for.
What a revelation for someone who thought she could achieve her way to peace!
I wrote this at my kitchen table before dawn, during the sliver of quiet in my home. If you’d told me even months before that I’d be spending my mornings writing poetry and sharing it with actual people, I would have laughed. But, it’s one of the most honest things I do now.
I hope this resonates with you!
Forever Brilliant.
By the open window kneeling,
watching night hang from the ceiling,
I took in the length of the sky
and pictured how far I could fly
till black turned back to blue.
I longed to dream of taking flight,
but couldn’t sleep at all that night.
How can you dream if you can’t sleep?
How can you sleep while the stars weep
their energizing light?
I stayed up all night scheming
of catching one that evening
and putting it inside my heart
so the light and I would never part,
making me forever brilliant.
I crept out through the window
to the cold, dark ground below.
On the highest hill I stood,
stretching as tall as I could,
but the stars slipped through my fingers.
Starting then, I told the tale
of how I reached for stars and failed.
If there was any hope in me,
I couldn’t let myself believe,
so afraid was I to fall again.
Since then the days turned into years.
Time moves too quick to live in fear.
It’s been too long since I last took
the time to even take a look
and revel in the feeling.
Maybe life is letting go
of fears that won’t let our light grow.
So, starting back where I began,
I’m dreaming bravely once again,
making me forever brilliant.
This is a piece from There, I Might Find Peace, a book of poetry and meditations for inner peace, love, and strength, and it’s 99¢ through Saturday on Amazon.
It’s been out for about three months now, and I am truly grateful for the reviews and the kind words I’ve received from readers. It means the world to know that this work has spoken to the people who read it.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the book, now’s a great time! Get it on Amazon here.
If the message in the book resonates with you and you want to spread the world, here are two simple ways you can do that:
1. Leave a review on Amazon. More reviews help more people find the book and decide if it’s right for them – and you never know who might need to find it.
2. Share this post!
To your brilliance,
Leslie
Did you like this poem? Listen to it in the free There, I Might Find Peace audio collection.
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