Dear Darkling by Valerie Parente
You are the symbol of pain becoming beauty
featherless wings
hope withstanding mood swings
sprouting from a spine
where stance is a nuisance
so you arch your back
like the moon and its exuberance
and though you come from the aether
your experience is human;
so fear not, dear darkling
you have become the blueprint
of finding beauty in darkness
now the teacher, once the student.
As above, you knew your worth
so below, you went and proved it.
– Valerie Parente (10-26-2024)
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