Why does every poet have a story of woe?
Why is the artist so familiar with darkness?
Their minds seem to see fractals of hope;
Their song, the tune of something broken.
Brokenness their friend, loneliness their companion,
Each one, it seems, has known abandonment,
Loss, grief, or overwhelming darkness;
Been targets of anger, abuse, or someone’s heartlessness —
The remnants of these emotions within
Shadow their stores of beauty.
Yet these are the stories of the greatest poets alive,
And dead, who’ve filled the world afresh with
Inspiring lines, profound insights,
and miraculous eloquence.
Their trials seem to be the tools
That sharpened their pens for action.
Perhaps this is to prove
Order can come from chaos,
And beauty from ashes.
November 4, 2019