Disillusioned Dreamer
It was a right of passage, so he said,
To reach a point of disillusionment
Where you awaken to a sense of dread,
Setting aside your inner innocent.
There was a madness in the sense he made,
A sadness in my knowing his words true,
That every soul who walks with me has paid
The stiff price of admission that is due.
That is, to look upon our cherished lives
And find them not so bright as they once seemed.
The hollow fact that each of us survives
On table scraps of all that we have dreamed.
I do not know if all the striving ends
In finding that our hopes were worth the fight,
Or if eventually, conviction bends
For each of us, until we yield our light.
But surely, either way, that does not change
The fact that we should struggle for the goal
Of what we crave to be, and in exchange,
Success or loss, we keep our spirits whole.
– s. Clark
Faith and Fear
Faith is the crisp, clean water
That soothes your thirsting heart.
Fear is the potent poison
That pulls the soul apart.
One cannot stand the other,
They cannot live combined,
Toxins in cleansing water,
Or fear with faith in mind.
One drop of bitter poison
Will spoil all you drink,
Just as one fear you hold to
Can ruin how you think.
And just as cleansing water
Will wash a venom out,
So too can trust through hardship
Rush through, and cleanse your doubt.
You must choose one or other,
You cannot hold to both,
You’ll find you’re drinking poison
And cutting off your growth.
So drink your cleansing water
Completely on its own.
Faith is not true faith, until
You let it stand alone.
– s. Clark
The world is a hard, stark place, my love
Life can be a bitter brew
So when there is fear
And the darkness draws near
Love, you must believe in you
Though time and tears weigh you down, my dear,
Show confidence in all you do
For when there is change
And the stars rearrange
You must still believe in you
Remember the love of the ones you hold close,
You are never alone, it is true,
But sometimes you fall.
You will win through it all,
If you will believe in you.
– s. Clark
You are More
You are not only your muscles and bones
You are spirit and will
You are fire and stone
Life is not made of just blood in your veins
You are anguish and rage
You are lightening and rain
You are not built of synapses and skin
You are made up of dreams,
Oceans storming within
How could you be broken, or fear the night?
You are stars in the dark
You are warmth, you are light
No one can box you, or measure your worth
You are spirit and song
You are wide as the earth
Though life will hurt you, and paint you with scars
Let no one convince you
You are less than you are
– s. Clark
Hope blooms painful
Like a rose within the heart
Unfolding in fearful transition
A hesitative start
Hope rises slowly
Like a wounded bird to fly
Thought grounded dead, but
Newly gazing toward the sky
Hope sings softly
In croaking, unused voice
Gaining harmony in trust
A pain, a fear, a choice
– s. Clark
You cannot be a sputtering candle
Telling of the fire from whence you came,
You have to be flame.
You cannot be the wind, weeping whispers
Of how you have blown to-and-fro so high,
You have to be sky
You cannot be a twittering songbird
Forever flapping about at the door,
Not when you could soar
– s. Clark
Shigé Clark Writing 