From the Well

I felt the ever increasing depth
envelope me drawing me
Accepting the gravity, the
pull, I could not resist

The impact of realisation
a collision with the walls
A dark well bouncing me
hurting, not the bottom

I kept smiling as the knocks
threw me further down, hiding
the marks covering my pain
not knowing just how deep

Light reached down, slivers
illuminated protrusions of hope
I reached out at the cold rock
desperate to grasp outcrops of relief

My friends threw me ropes
shouts echoing encouragement
I looked and saw a lighter shade
drawn to an illusion of light

I clung to the moist and slippery
coldness in the well of despair
knowing that it would not swallow me
no longer surrendering to the fall

I will climb and my nails will break
my body aching from the strain
I will grasp the rose and rise
friendship pulling me higher each day.

- Ciaran Burke