You cannot protect
yourself with ignorance
or avoidance
or addictive distractions

for just as you numb
the part of yourself
who would
shake you awake,
call you to change,
demand you walk through
your shadows
so you can find light
on the other side

so do you numb
the part of yourself
who would
shake you awake,
call you to truth,
demand you walk through
your heart
so you can find love
on the other side

this is why
we do the work,
not because we
love the shadows
but because we can’t
help but be drawn
to the promise
of what lays waiting
on the other side