- EMPWR Contributor
The Spotlight
Updated: Jul 1, 2020
"Goodbye forever, fleeting spotlight"
By Daniel Durand

Goodbye forever, fleeting spotlight.
I’ll remember you
But the stage is no longer mine
For so long I feared the dark
I was afraid to step out
But the dark cannot be avoided
Or mitigated
Or even contained.
It covers the ground you walk,
Encasing the trees and their roots
The flowers’ lack of colour
The roadside curb and accompanying footpath.
It’s everywhere.
To the shadow that pleaded me to stay,
I’ve stopped listening to you
You took my form and enclosed it in darkness
You thrived in the spotlight
But now you’re gone.
All that’s left is me
In the dark.
The inevitable darkness
But now I walk through new horizons
My hands reach out and feel
A variety of stones and flowers and petals
Of a sprawling summer field.
With a cautious jerk I opened one eye
The neon foliage made me squint
But soon I saw a broad blue sky
Bolstered by a vibrant meadow
Though confused at first, I now realised
That what lies in the dark isn’t so bad
It’s a beginning as much as it is an end
The birds sang freedom
as they soared the skies.
That wretched shadow
Filled my head with lies.
Goodbye forever, fleeting spotlight
My act of pretending is done
Gone is the glare that distorted my vision
Gone is the glare that you once shone.
