Phantoms

For a moment, I was lost,

swallowed by the deep.

I scurried through the dark,

desperate for the truth.

But the hands outstretched to save me

were nothing but smoke.

How strange to be surrounded by so many,

yet suffocated by an absolute alone.

it's a heavy thing-

to feel entirely abandoned while

standing in a crowd.

Still, I refused to stay down.

I kept moving. I kept reaching.

I clawed my way back to the surface.

I dragged myself out toward the glare.

Looking back, I see it clearly now.

I was never alone.

I was just chasing phantoms,

mistaking their flicker for a true home.

I was never lost in the dark,

I was just following the wrong lights.

  KLJ